GIFTOF 


A   REPORT 

TO 

The  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board 

ON  THE 

DISPOSAL  of  the  SEWAGE 
and  PROTECTION  of 
the  WATER  SUPPLY 

OF 

CHICAGO,    ILLINOIS 

BY 

Messrs. 

GEORGE  A.  SOPER 

JOHN  D.  WATSON 

ARTHUR  J.  MARTIN 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiy 


THE  CHICAGO  REAL 
ESTATE  BOARD 

earnestly  commends  to  the  careful 
consideration  of  public  officials, 
civic  organizations,  and  the 
thoughtful  citizenship  of  the  City 
of  Chicago  the  within  report  of 
the  Board  of  Sanitary  Experts, 
made  to  its  Harbor  and  River 
Improvement  Committee. 

GEORGE  H.  TAYLOR, 

PRESIDENT. 
Chicago,  June  15,  1915. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

Report  of  the  Harbor  and  River  Improvement  Committee 9 

Letter  of  Transmittal 11 

THE  REPORT 

PART  I. 

Introduction  and  Conclusion — 

Authority  for  the  Investigation 13 

Report   of   the   Drainage    Committee   of   the   Chicago   Real 
Estate  Board,  leading  to  the  appointment  of  the  Sanitary 

Experts 13 

Questions  Submitted  to  the  Experts  and  Their  Answers.  ...  16 

Plan  of  the  Investigation .20 

PART  II. 

The  Chicago  Region  and  Its  Waterways — 

Situation  of  Chicago  and  the  Sanitary  District 23 

Sanitary  Condition  of  the  Great  Lakes 24 

Civic  Character  and  Plan   25 

Government    28 

Population 30 

The  Crude  and  Corrected  Death  Rates 30 

The  Water  Supply  and  the  Death  Rates 32 

Typhoid  Fever  and  the  Drainage  Channel 34 

The  Future  City 36 

The  Chicago  River 37 

The  Water  Route  to  the  Mississippi 41 

The  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago 42 

Total  Cost  of  the  Water  and  Sewage  Works 45 

PART  III. 
Water  Supply — 

The  First  Private  Supplies 49 

The  First  Public  Supply 51 

Attempts  to  Secure  Unpolluted  Lake  Water 51 

The  Two-Fold  Requirements  of  Purity 53 

The  Existing  Dangers  of  Pollution 54 

Pollution  from  the  Chicago  River 55 

Pollution  from  Boats  and  Dredging 55 

Pollution  by  Other  Municipalities 56 

The  Lake  Michigan  Water  Commission's  Findings 57 

5 


Page 

The  Lake  Water  at  Chicago 60 

Necessity  for  Purifying  the  Water 63 

Quantity  of  Water  Available  and  Required 65 

PART  IV. 
Sewage  Disposal — 

The  First  Attempts  at  Sewerage 68 

Origin  of  the  Plans  for  the  Present  Sewerage  System 69 

Natural  Difficulties  Overcome 69 

The  Four  Methods  of  Disposal  Originally  Considered 71 

First  Use  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  for  Disposing 

of  the  Sewage 73 

Enlargement  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  so  as  to 

Take  More  Sewage 74 

Construction  of  Pumps  to  Force  More  Sewage  Through  the 

Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal 75 

Inception  of  the  Project  for  a  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal 76 

Demand  for  the  Drainage  Canal  in  1885 77 

Appointment  of  the  Water  Supply  and  Drainage  Commis- 
sion of  1886-7 78 

Conditions  of  Water  Supply  and  Sewage  Disposal  in  Chicago 

in  1887 79 

The  Three  Methods  of  Sewage  Disposal  Considered  by  the 

Water  Supply  and  Drainage  Commission 81 

The  Commission's  Objections  to  Disposal  Into  the  Lake  and 

on  Land 82 

The  Drainage  Canal  Recommended 84 

Amount  of  Dilution  Recommended 85 

Cost  of  the  Drainage  Canal 86 

Creation  of  the  Sanitary  District 87 

Construction  of  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal 88 

The  Diversion  of  Sewage  from  the  Lake 89 

Review  of  the  Development  of  Chicago's  Scheme  of  Sew- 
age Disposal 90 

PART  V. 
What  Becomes  of  the  Sewage — 

Present  Condition  of  the  Chicago  River  and  Sanitary  and 

Ship  Canal 92 

Condition  of  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers 95 

Investigations  of  the  State  Board  of  Health 98 

Results  of  Prof.  Long's  Investigations  of  the  Illinois  River.  .  100 

Investigations  by  the  State  Water  Survey 102 

Investigations  of  the  State  Laboratory  of  Natural  History. .  .  104 

Analyses  by  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago 109 

Opinions  of  the  Early  Promoters  of  Chicago's  Sewage  Dis- 
posal Scheme 110 

Original  Estimates  of  Quantity  of  Dilution  Water  Required.  112 

6. 


Page 
Insanitary  Conditions  Attending  the  Self-Purification  of  the 

Rivers 113 

Role  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal  in  Disposing  of  the  Sew- 
age by  Dilution  114 

Self-Purification  as  Shown  in  the  St.  Louis  Suit 117 

Data  on  the  Disappearance  of  the  Disease  Germs 120 

Testimony  as  to  the  Effect  of  Various  Ratios  of  Dilution.  .  .121 

The  Analytical  Evidence  in  the  St.  Louis  Suit 122 

The  Illinois  Before  and  After  the  Opening  of  the  Drainage 

Channel    .  .  . .  . 123 

Theories  as  to  Self-Purification 123 

Recognition  of  the  Importance  of  Oxidation 124 

PART  VI. 

The  Calumet  Problem  and  the  Lake  Levels  Controversy — 

Relation  Between  the  Calumet  Problem  and  the  Lake  Levels 

Controversy 126 

Drainage  Area  and  Population  of  the  Calumet  District 128 

Present  Conditions  of  Sewage  Disposal  in  the  Calumet 129 

The  Calumet-Sag  Channel 129 

The  International  Waterways  Report 132 

Mr.  Hering's  Report  in  Favor  of  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel.  .135 
Ineffectiveness  of  the  Calumet-Sag  Solution 137 

PART  VII. 

Available  Processes  for  Treating  the  Sewage — 

Removal  of  the  Suspended  Matter 142 

Screens    144 

Grit  Chambers 145 

Sedimentation  Tanks 146 

Chemical  Precipitation 147 

Sludge  Digestion  Tanks 148 

Sedimentation  and  Digestion 149 

Final  Disposal  of  Sludge 151 

Utilization  of  Sludge 153 

Sewage  Farms  155 

Sanitary  Aspects  of  Irrigation 157 

Intermittent  Sand  Filtration 158 

Contact  Beds 158 

Percolating  Filters   159 

Aeration  160 

Miscellaneous  Processes 161 

Summary   161 

PART  VIII. 
Policies  and  Methods — 

Protecting  the  Drinking  Water  by   Diverting  the  Sewage 
from  the  Lake 163 

7 


Page 

The  Danger  of  Chance  Pollution 165 

The  Question  of  Clearness 166 

The  Proper  Degree  of  Purity  for  the  Drinking  Water 167 

Necessity  for  Purifying  the  Water 169 

The  Present  Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Prevention 170 

The  Policy  of  Discharging  the  Crude  Sewage  Into  the  Wa- 
tercourses     172 

Conditions  Which  Properly  Constitute  a  Nuisance 174 

Ineffectiveness  of  Dredging  and   Flushing  in  Keeping  the 

Waterways  Clean  177 

Standards  of  Cleanness  Suggested  for  the  Waterways 180 

How  the  Proper  Degree  of  Cleanness  Can  Be  Obtained 184 

The  Policy  of  Discharging  the  Sewage  Into  the  Illinois  Val- 
ley   186 

Sanitary  Authority  for  the  Present  Ratio  of  Dilution 188 

Limitations  of  Disposal  by  Dilution  at  Chicago 191 

The  Industrial  Wastes  Report  of  1914 1% 

The  Chief  Engineer's   1911   Report  on  the  Introduction  of 

Improved  Methods  of  Disposal 199 

The  Works  Proposed  by  the  Chief  Engineer 200 

Comments  on  the  Chief  Engineer's  Report 202 

PART  IX. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations — 

The  Water  Supply 205 

The  Open  Sewers 207 

The  Law 208 

Sewage  Works 210 

Trade  Wastes .210 

Water  Filtration 211 

Lake  Protection 211 

Progression  Plan 212 


REPORT  OF  THE  HARBOR  AND  RIVER 
IMPROVEMENT  COMMITTEE 

To  the  President  and  Members  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate 

Board: 
Gentlemen: 

Your  Harbor  and  River  Improvement  Committee, 
acting,  as  we  then  believed,  in  the  best  interests  of  our  city 
and  with  a  view  of  calling  the  attention  of  the  public  to 
the  importance  of  better  thought  and  direction  in  our 
sanitary  expenditures,  made  a  report  to  your  body  on  Jan. 
6th,  1914,  outlining  the  existing  sanitary  situation  as  it 
appeared  to  your  Committee,  and  suggesting  the  appoint- 
ment of  Engineering  Experts  to  consider  these  important 
problems.  These  suggestions  met  with  the  approval  of 
the  Real  Estate  Board,  and  as  a  result  of  the  public  spir- 
ited munificence  of  one  of  the  members,  funds  were  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Committee  for  this  purpose,  and  the 
following  gentlemen  were  selected: 

Mr.  George  A.  Soper,  Sanitary  Engineer  and  late 
President  of  the  Metropolitan  Sewage  Commission  of 
New  York  City. 

Mr.  Arthur  J.  Martin,  Sanitary  Expert  of  London, 
England,  and  Past  President  of  the  British  Sanitary  In- 
stitute of  Sanitary  Engineers. 

Mr.  John  D.  Watson  of  Birmingham,  England,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Institute  of  Sanitary  Engineers,  and  long  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Birmingham,  Tame  and  Rea  District 
Drainage  Board. 

These  gentlemen,  having  signified  their  williness  to 
serve,  were  constituted  as  a  Board  to  report  to  your  Com- 
mittee on  the  matter  of  a  proper  future  sanitary  policy  for 
Chicago. 

A  preliminary  report  was  made  to  your  Committee 
on  May  ist,  1914,  and  duly  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Board. 


10       REPORT  OF  THE  HARBOR  AND  RIVER  IMPROVEMENT  COMMITTEE 

The  final  report  of  these  gentlemen,  under  date  of 
May  24th,  1915,  is  now  received,  and  has  been  ordered 
printed  and  distributed  to  the  members  of  the  Board  and 
those  citizens  of  Chicago  who  are  interested  in  this  sub- 
ject. 

The  Board's  report,  which  we  now  publish,  is  not 
only  very  able,  thorough,  and  conclusive,  but  has  been 
written  within  a  compass  which  makes  what  is  really  a 
treatise  and  easily  readable  pamphlet.  It  is  well  fitted, 
therefore,  to  disseminate  in  the  community  a  correct 
knowledge  of  our  sanitary  problems,  and  to  incite  intelli- 
gent interest  in  their  practical  solution.  The  expenditure 
for  sanitary  purposes  has  been,  is  now,  and  will  be  more 
and  more  extremely  large,  and  it  is  the  wish  of  the  Real 
Estate  Board  to  do  what  it  can  to  secure,  in  return  for  this 
heavy  outlay,  really  efficient  sanitation,  well  supervised 
and  maintained,  so  that  the  public  health  of  our  city  shall 
be  conserved,  our  environment  made  decent,  and  our 
neighboring  communities  shall  be  without  just  complaint. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

HARBOR  AND  RIVER  IMPROVEMENT  COMMITTEE, 

HYDE  W.  PERCE,  Chairman. 
HENRY  H.  WALKER, 
JOHN  W.  ALVORD, 
JOSEPH  DONNERSBERGER, 
LOUIS  A.  SEEBERGER, 
FRANK  G.  HOYNE, 
EDWARD  S.  JUDD, 
EMIL  RUDOLPH. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 

Committee  on  River  and  Harbor  Improvement, 

The  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board, 

Chicago,  111. 
Gentlemen:  March,  1915. 

We  present  herewith  the  final  report  of  our  study  of 
the  sanitary  aspects  of  the  scheme  of  sewage  disposal  and 
water  supply  protection  which  is  now  followed  by  the 
City  of  Chicago.  These  investigations  were  begun  early 
in  1914,  and  have  occupied  us  about  one  year. 

Our  opinion  is  that  the  present  means  of  protecting 
the  water  and  getting  rid  of  the  sewage  are  not,  and  cannot 
be  made,  satisfactory,  and  that  decided  changes  are  needed 
both  as  to  policy  and  procedure. 

It  is  wrong  in  principle  and  in  practice  (a)  to  use  the 
unpurified  lake  water  for  drinking  purposes,  (b)  to  dis- 
charge the  crude  sewage  into  the  waterways  and  (c)  to 
flush  crude  sewage  into  the  Illinois  valley. 

The  existing  policies  have  not  given  the  city  a  safe 
drinking  water,  nor  eliminated  the  insanitary  conditions 
in  the  Chicago  River.  They  have  made  impossible  a 
wholesome  condition  of  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers 
for  about  one  hundred  miles. 

An  inquiry  into  the  history  of  the  existing  scheme 
of  sewage  disposal  and  a  careful  examination  of  the  law 
which  provided  for  the  construction  of  the  Drainage 
Canal,  have  convinced  us  that  the  intention  of  the  State 
Legislature  in  passing  the  Sanitary  District  Act  was  to 
prevent  many  of  the  evils  which  now  exist,  and  which 
must  become  greatly  magnified  with  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation, unless  radical  changes  are  made. 

We  have  been  unable  to  find  anything  in  the  situation 
of  Chicago,  as  regards  drainage,  or  the  sociological  condi- 
tion of  its  inhabitants  which  warrants  the  adoption  of 
lower  sanitary  standards  than  are  suitable  for  the  most 
enlightened  communities.  To  attain  to  these  standards, 
the  city  needs  works  of  main  drainage  and  sewage  dis- 
posal such  as  other  great  centers  of  population  have  found 
it  necessary  to  construct. 

11 


12  LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 

The  building  of  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal  was  an 
excellent  beginning-,  but  it  has  not  afforded  a  complete 
solution  of  the  sewage  problem.  If  properly  used,  the 
Canal  will  always  prove  to  be  an  invaluable  asset  in  the 
sanitation  of  Chicago,  but  its  proper  function  is  that  of  a 
river,  not  a  sewer.  Considerations  of  health  and  decency 
require  that  it  be  not  called  upon  to  serve  as  both. 

Intercepting  sewers  are  needed  to  take  the  sewage 
from  the  present  collecting  sewers  and  convey  it  to  suit- 
able points  for  disposal  and  treatment  works  are  required 
in  order  to  fit  the  sewage  for  discharge.  At  first,  and  for 
the  most  part,  the  removal  of  the  suspended  matters  will 
probably  afford  all  the  purification  required.  The  works 
should  be  capable  of  extension  and  development  as  the 
conditions  of  the  future  require. 

The  water  supply  can,  and  should  be,  improved  in 
order  to  protect  it  against  such  pollution  as  the  immense 
population  of  Chicago  and  vicinity  and  the  extensive  com- 
merce upon  the  lake  render  unavoidable.  Inasmuch  as  the 
water  is  at  times  turbid  and  unsafe  for  a  public  drinking 
water  supply,  we  advise  that  it  be  filtered.  Strenuous  ef- 
forts should  be  made  to  curtail  the  waste  of  water  which 
now  amounts  to  over  100  gallons  per  day  for  every  man, 
woman  and  child  in  Chicago. 

Both  the  sewage  disposal  works  and1  the  purification 
plants  for  the  water  should,  in  our  opinion,  be  built 
gradually  and  in  accordance  with  plans  made  at  the 
earliest  practicable  time.  Much  of  this  planning  will  be 
long  in  advance  of  the  actual  requirements  of  the  works. 
In  this  way  the  cost,  being  anticipated,  can  be  provided 
for  and  so  distributed  as  not  to  prove  too  serious  a  burden. 

We  recommend  that  steps  be  at  once  taken  to  prepare 
a  general  plan  and  policy  of  sewage  disposal  which  will 
give  to  the  water  supply  all  the  protection  which  is  prac- 
ticable and  get  rid  of  the  sewage  without  unnecessary  dan- 
ger or  offence.  Respectfully  submitted, 

GEORGE  A.  SOPER, 
JOHN  D.  WATSON, 

May  24,  1915.  ARTHUR  J.  MARTIN. 


A  REPORT  ON  THE  DISPOSAL   OF  THE 

SEWAGE  AND   PROTECTION   OF 

THE  WATER  SUPPLY  OF 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

Part  I 

1.— AUTHORITY   FOR   THE   INVESTIGATION. 

At  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate 
Board,  held  November  5,  1913,  a  resolution  was  adopted 
providing  for  the  appointment  of  three  engineers  to  make 
a  thorough  study  of  the  question  of  disposing  of  the  sew- 
age of  Chicago  in  a  sanitary  manner.  In  consequence  of 
this  action,  the  following  were  appointed:  George  A. 
Soper  of  New  York,  John  D.  Watson  of  Birmingham, 
England,  and  Arthur  J.  Martin  of  London. 

The  point  of  view  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board 
in  authorizing  this  investigation  is  shown  in  the  following 
report  of  its  Committee  on  Drainage,  which  was  presented 
on  January  6,  1914,  and  adopted: 

2.— REPORT   OF  THE   DRAINAGE   COMMITTEE  OF  THE 

CHICAGO  REAL  ESTATE  BOARD,  LEADING 

TO  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF  THE 

SANITARY  EXPERTS. 

Gentlemen : 

Your  Committee  on  Drainage,  appointed  December  29, 
1913,  having  been  impressed  with  the  seriousness  of  the  sani- 
tary situation  in  this  city,  is  moved  to  make  the  Board  a  prog- 
ress report  as  to  the  present  situation. 

(1)  The  condition  of  our  water  supply  during  the  past 
few  months  has  been  such  as  to  impress  nearly  everybody  with 
the  fact  that  we  are  not  obtaining  in  our  households  water 
of  that  clarity  and  cleanliness  that  are  desirable  and  necessary 
in  a  great  city  of  the  size  of  Chicago. 

(2)  There  has  been  a  distinct  and  disconcerting  rise  in 
the  typhoid  death  rate  in  this  city  during  the  past  year,  which 
is  causing  uneasiness  to  those  in  immediate  authority.     Ty- 
phoid fever  is  so  frequently  originated  by   impure  drinking 

13 


14  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

water  that  its  increase  always  causes  suspicion  to  be  first  cast 
upon  the  water  supply  as  its  cause. 

(3)  Health    Commissioner   Young   has   formally   stated, 
in  the  daily  press,  that  each  year  we  suffer  a  loss  of  approxi- 
mately  17,000  citizens  from  diseases   which  are  preventable. 
This,  he  says,  is  equivalent  to  a  Titanic  disaster  almost  every 
month.     It  is  apparent  that  a  considerable  proportion  of  these 
diseases  may  be  caused  either  directly  or  indirectly  from  an 
impure  water  supply. 

(4)  The   City  Council  of  Chicago  has  been  stirred  by 
these  conditions  to  investigate  the  subject,  through  its  Health 
Committee,  and  an  agitation  has  been  started  to  prevent  the 
dumping  of  impure  material  promiscuously  in  the  lake. 

(5)  Trustee  Sullivan  of  the  Drainage  Board,  in  a  pre- 
liminary authorized  review  of  the  work  of  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict, published  in  a  morning  newspaper  of  January  1st,  states 
that  121,000  cubic  yards  of  septic  sludge  were  removed  from 
Bubbly  Creek  (the  Stockyards  District)  during  the  past  year, 
and  carried  out  into  the  lake,  and  deposited  behind  bulkheads, 
where  the  new  Field  Museum  of  Natural   History  is  to  be 
erected.    If  this  statement  be  correct,  it  would  appear  that  our 
sanitary  authorities  have  shown  most  regrettable  judgment  in 
the  protection  of  our  water  supply. 

(6)  In  an  exhaustive  and  carefully  prepared  report,  dated 
November  25,   1910,  by  Mr.   Wisner,   Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Sanitary  District;  Mr.  C.  D.  Hill,  C.  E.,  Engineer  of  the  Board 
of  Local  Improvements ;  Dr.  W.  A.  Evans,  former  Health  Com- 
missioner, and  others,  the  following  conclusions  seem  to  have 
been  well  demonstrated: 

1st.  That  the  present  drainage  flow  is  insufficient  in 
amount  to  purify  effectively  the  sewage  which  now 
reaches  it. 

2nd.  That  large  quantities  of  filth  produced  in  the 
Stockyards  District  and  in  the  North  Branch  of  the  Chi- 
cago River,  as  well  as  the  west  fork,  are  not  now  brought 
within  the  influence  of  the  channel  flow  or  purified  by  it, 
and  are  a  growing  menace. 

3rd.  That  the  legal  capacity  required  in  the  channel, 
viz.,  20,000  cubic  feet  per  minute  per  100,000  population, 
is  an  insufficient  ratio  for  dilution  in  Chicago. 

4th.  That  by  a  series  of  chemical  tests  the  purifying 
capacity  of  the  channel  flow  is  shown  to  have  been  for 
some  years  exhausted,  especially  in  summer  time,  by 
reason  of  its  depletion  of  its  dissolved  oxygen. 

5th.  That  steps  should  immediately  be  taken  for 
additional  and  further  relief  in  the  near  future  by  artificial 


INTRODUCTION  AND  CONCLUSIONS  15 

purification  in  aid  of  the  channel,  which  additional  works 
will  cost  the  city  a  probable  further  expenditure  of  from 
20  to  25  million  dollars. 

(7)  Your  Committee  is  further  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  the  United  States  has  never  authorized  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict of  Chicago  to  withdraw  from  the  Great  Lakes  at  a  rate  of 
more  than  4,167  cubic  feet  per  second  of  dilution  water,  and 
that  the  State  law  creating  the  Sanitary  District  explicitly  re- 
quires  the   withdrawal   of   20,000   cubic   feet   per   minute   per 
100,000   population,    which    requirement   at    the   present   time 
cannot  be  much  less  than  8,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  or  about 
double  the  amount  permitted  by  the  U.  S.  Government. 

(8)  Your  Committee  is  creditably  informed,  and,  in  fact, 
has  in  its  possession,  evidence  tending  to  show  that  not  only 
at  this  time,  but  for  some  years  past,  the  Sanitary  District  has 
withdrawn  from  Lake  Michigan  at  most  times  between  7,000 
and  8,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  or  very  nearly  the  entire  re- 
quirements of  the  State  law,  all  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  this  is 
in  violation  of  the  requirements  of  the  general  government. 

(9)  The  report  of  Mr.  Wisner,  above  referred  to,  is  con- 
clusive that  not  even  this  amount  of  flow  is  sufficient  to  ef- 
fectively purify  the  sewage  actually  reaching  the  main  channel 
in  summer,  while  the  sewage  from  important  areas,  such  as  the 
Stockyards,  cannot  at  such  seasons  be  brought  into  contact 
with  the  flow  of  the  main  channel  until  putrefaction  is  com- 
pleted, to  the  great  and  general  nuisance  of  that  vicinity. 

(10)  The  Sanitary  District  has  brought  suit  against  the 
general  government  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  authorization 
for  a  flow  of  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  which  amount  was 
adopted  by  the  International   Waterways  Commission  as   all 
that  could  properly  be  allowed  the  city  of  Chicago  for  its  sani- 
tary needs,  but  it  is  evident  that  even  should  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict of  Chicago  be  successful  in  this  suit  and  could  compel 
the  general  government  to  allow  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second 
to   be   withdrawn,   this   amount   of   flow   would   only   slightly 
exceed  the  amount  which  the  Sanitary  District  is  now  with- 
drawing, and  which  amount  has  been  declared  insufficient  for 
the  present  purpose  of  purification,  by  the  Chief  Engineer  of 
the  Sanitary  District. 

Under  these  circumstances,  your  Committee  feel  that  the 
city  is  facing  a  grave  situation,  in  which  there  is  no  apparent, 
immediate,  practicable  relief,  and  that  although  the  drainage 
channel  has  been  in  operation  only  about  thirteen  years,  it  has, 
in  fact,  reached  the  limits  of  its  capacity  for  the  present  popu- 
lation. 

To  add  to  this  dilemma,  the  policy  of  the  Sanitary  District 


16  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

for  some  years  has  been  to  extend  the  limits  of  the  District  far 
beyond  that  for  which  the  channel  was  originally  designed, 
taking  in  through  the  supplementary  Sag  Canal,  large  terri- 
tories to  the  south,  and  the  supplementary  Evanston  channel, 
large  territories  to  the  north  which  will,  in  the  future,  ma- 
terially add  to  the  embarrassments  under  which  we  now  labor. 
All  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  International  Waterways 
Commission  declared,  on  the  authority  of  expert  advice,  that 
these  territories  could  be  suitably  and  economically  cared  for 
by  methods  of  sewage  purification. 

Under  these  circumstances  your  Committee  feel  that  the 
Real  Estate  Board  should  be  made  aware  of  the  facts,  and 
should  carefully  consider  what  steps  should  be  taken  to  outline 
a  proper  future  policy  for  the  sanitary  protection  of  this  city. 
Your  Committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  time  is  ripe  for 
a  thorough,  impartial  and  unbiased  investigation  by  a  board 
of  the  highest  class  of  sanitary  experts  that  can  be  obtained  in 
this  country  or  abroad,  and  preferably  not  connected  with  or 
committed  in  any  way  hitherto  with  this  problem,  all  to  the 
end  that  some  authoritative  and  careful  statement  may  be 
made  as  to  our  present  condition,  and  some  definite  proper  and 
studied  policy  for  our  sanitary  protection  may  be  presented 
and  adopted,  for  the  furtherance  of  this  city's  future  growth 
and  prosperity. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  sumbitted, 

JOHN  W.  ALVORD, 
HENRY  H.  WALKER, 
HYDE  W.  PIERCE, 

Committee  on  Drainage,  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board. 
January  6,  1914. 

3.— QUESTIONS    SUBMITTED    TO    THE    EXPERTS    AND 
THEIR  ANSWERS. 

The  following  list  of  questions  was  prepared  by  the 
Committee  on  Drainage  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board 
and  submitted  to  the  Board  of  Experts  for  their  consider- 
ation. Most  of  the  questions  are  so  comprehensive  as  to 
be  incapable  of  brief  and  complete  answer  from  the  inves- 
tigation which  has  been  made.  Such  replies,  however,  as 
are  possible  with  the  information  at  hand  are  here  given. 
Question  1 :  Assuming  that  all  the  sewage  and  trade 

wastes  of  the  Sanitary  District  are  to  be  dealt  with  by  a  dilution 

flow  of  Lake  Michigan,  what  is  the  proper  ratio  of  dilution 

for  Chicago  to  count  upon? 


INTRODUCTION  AND  CONCLUSIONS  17 

Answer:  The  sewage  and  trade  wastes  of  the  Sanitary 
District  cannot  be  disposed  of  in  a  sanitary  manner  by  merely 
discharging  them  with  diluting  lake  water  to  the  Illinois  val- 
ley. No  amount  of  dilution  which  it  is  practicable  to  effect  is 
capable  of  rendering  all  of  the  sewage  which  is  now  produced 
by  Chicago  harmless  and  inert  before  a  serious  nuisance  is 
caused  in  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers.  The  sewage 
should  be  purified  to  some  extent  before  it  is  discharged.  The 
amount  of  purification  required  will  depend  upon  how  clean 
the  waters  of  the  Desplaines. and  Illinois  Rivers  must  be  kept 
and  how  much  purification  can  properly  be  counted  on  in  the 
Drainage  Channel  and  other  open  waterways.  It  seems  rea- 
sonable to  insist  that  at  an  early  date  the  rivers  shall  be  made 
free  from  (1)  discoloration  due  to  sewage;  (2)  deposits  of 
sewage  sludge,  and  (3)  solids  and  odors  which  are  readily 
recognizable  as  of  sewage  origin.  This  means  at  least  fine 
screening  or  sedimentation  for  all  the  sewage  and,  in  addition, 
some  form  of  oxidizing  treatment  for  a  large  part  of  it. 

Question  2 :  Assuming  trade  wastes  and  solids  are  to  be 
separated  from  the  sewage  flow  at  the  intercepting  sewer  out- 
lets and  treated,  what  is  the  best  location  and  method  for  such 
treatment,  and  what  ratio  of  dilution  water  in  the  main  drain- 
age channel  may  safely  be  allowed  for  the  proper  purification 
of  the  effluent  water  after  such  treatment? 

Answer :  The  best  means  of  local  treatment  is  by  means 
of  screens  and  settling  basins.  The  best  locations  for  such 
works  can  be  determined  only  after  careful,  detailed  studies 
have  been  made  of  the  surface  and  underground  conditions. 
The  ratio  of  dilution  in  the  Main  Drainage  Channel  should  not 
be  reduced  below  the  present  ratio,  but  increased,  for  it  is 
desirable  that  the  present  conditions  be  improved.  By  screens 
and  settling  basins  is  here  meant  fine  screens,  well  built  and 
operated,  and  settling  basins  equal  to  any  in  practical  efficiency. 

Question  3 :  Is  it  the  best  course  for  the  city  to  rely  on 
full  and  complete  treatment  for  the  sewage  from  outlying 
territory,  and  the  application  of  Lake  Michigan  flow  to  the 
sewage  of  the  central  districts  of  the  city,  or  would  it  be  better 
to  partially  purify  all  of  the  sewage  by  initial  treatment  in 
screens  or  tanks,  or  both,  at  a  large  number  of  stations  through- 
out the  district,  leaving  the  flow  from  Lake  Michigan  to  com- 
plete the  treatment? 

Answer :  Partly  purify  it  all.  Completely  purify  some  of 
it.  The  central  districts  of  the  city  have  the  first  claim  upon 
the  digestive  capacity  of  the  water  for  sewage. 

Question  4 :  Is  it  best  to  concentrate  the  sewage  flow  for 
partial  treatment  at  one  or  two  main  stations,  or  should  it  be 


1.8  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

collected  in  a  larger  number  of  small  districts  and  dealt  with 
in  smaller  installations? 

Answer :  There  should  be  one  main  station  to  the  west  of 
the  city  and  various  smaller  installations.  Their  number  and 
location  can  only  be  determined  by  comprehensive  studies  on 
the  ground  and  a  comparison  of  the  cost  and  efficiency  of 
various  alternative  projects. 

Question  5 :  To  what  extent  is  it  desirable  to  purify  sew- 
age, under  our  present  conditions,  in  view  of  the  uses  and  con- 
ditions of  the  channels  and  rivers  into  which  our  drainage  is 
now  discharged? 

Answer :  Floating  solids,  and  solid  matter  which  is  capable 
of  depositing  in  the  channel  and  rivers,  should  be  removed 
from  the  sewage  and  as  much  more  improvement  effected  as 
can  reasonably  be  accomplished  presumably  by  means  of 
screens  and  settling  basins.  This  is  a  minimum  requirement, 
and  will  serve  for  a  beginning.  The  aim  should  be  to  comply 
with  the  State  law  as  soon  as  practicable  and  not  create  offen- 
sive conditions  in  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  valleys.  This 
will  require  some  form  of  oxidizing  treatment  to  be  employed 
to  a  considerable  extent. 

Question  6:  To  what  extent  is  it  desirable  to  construct 
branch  dilution  channels,  receiving  at  their  upper  ends  dilu- 
tion water,  in  place  of  intercepting  sewers  reaching  to  the  main 
channels  ? 

Answer :  No  more  should  be  constructed.  Dilution  chan- 
nels are  open  sewers  and  are  based  on  the  mistaken  theory  that 
the  crude  sewage  may  be  discharged  into  them  providing  that 
a  large  amount  of  diluting  water  is  supplied.  This  theory  is 
wrong  in  principle  and  in  practice.  The  city  should  not  be 
intersected  with  open  sewers. 

Question  7 :  To  what  extent  has  the  dumping  and  spread- 
ing of  dredgings  from  the  river  into  the  lake  proved  to  be 
dangerous  to  the  purity  of  the  water  supply,  and  to  what  extent 
should  it  be  limited? 

Answer :  The  dumping  of  dredgings  from  the  river  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  water  works  intakes  has  in  times  past  been  a 
dangerous  practice  and  should  be  discontinued.  Only  clean  ma- 
terial should  be  dumped  behind  bulkheads.  Sewage  sludge 
should  never  be  dumped  within  the  8-mile  limit.  There  are 
other  places  than  the  lake  where  dredgings  can  be  dumped,  as 
for  example,  along  the  route  of  the  drainage  channel  on  land 
belonging  to  the  District.  If  the  sewage  is  treated  by  screening 
or  settling,  the  amount  of  sewage  sludge  which  will  have  to  be 
dredged  will  be  reduced. 

Question  8:     What   should  be  done  to  improve   sewage, 


INTRODUCTION  AND  CONCLUSIONS  19 

conditions  in  such  specially  objectionable  districts  as  the  South 
Branch  in  the  Stockyards  District,  and  the  West  Fork  and  the 
North  Branch  in  the  factory  district? 

Answer:  The  sewage  should  be  intercepted,  taken  away, 
and,  as  a  minimum  procedure,  screened  or  settled.  It  should 
finally  be  discharged  directly  into  the  Drainage  Channel. 

Question  9 :  Should  trade  wastes  be  dealt  with  at  private 
or  public  expense,  and  how  may  they  best  be  treated  under  the 
conditions  here? 

Answer :  Trade  wastes  should  be  treated  at  private  ex- 
pense when,  and  to  the  extent  that,  they  increase  the  cost  of 
disposing  of  them  over  the  cost  of  disposing  of  an  equal  volume 
of  domestic  sewage.  The  manner  in  which  they  should  be 
treated  must  depend  upon  their  composition  and  other  condi- 
tions which  require  special  study. 

Question  10:  Assuming  that  the  General  Government  will 
restrict  the  amount  of  water  to  be  drawn  from  the  Great  Lakes 
for  Chicago's  sanitary  purposes  to  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second, 
what  supplementary  works  will  be  necessary,  how  soon  should 
they  be  begun  and  what  will  be  their  approximate  cost? 

Answer :  Whether  the  Government  allows  10,000  cubic 
feet,  more  or  less,  plans  should  be  made  at  once  to  install  in- 
tercepting sewers,  screens  and  settling  basins  to  improve  and 
protect  the  water  of  the  Chicago  River,  Drainage  Channel,  and 
Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers.  The  completeness  of  these 
works  and  of  the  protection  which  they  afford,  as  well  as  the 
rapidity  with  which  they  are  constructed,  should  depend  upon 
the  limits  of  pollution  to  be  permitted  for  the  waterways  and 
the  amount  of  diluting  water  which  is  available.  The  works 
required  should  consist  of  intercepting  sewers  and,  as  a 
minimum,  means  for  extracting  all  the  solid  matter  which  it  is 
practicable  to  extract  without  undue  expense.  The  Drainage 
Channel  can,  and  should,  be  made  to  carry  on  some  of  the 
process  of  final  disposition.  The  extent  to  which  it  can  be 
made  use  of  in  this  way  should  be  determined  by  investigation 
and  experiment. 

Question  11:  To  what  extent  should  reliance  be  had  for 
a  pure  water  supply  upon  the  preventing  of  accidental  pollution 
of  the  lake  by  steamships  and  commerce  carriers,  or  from  the 
deposit  of  dredgings,  and  when  should  reliance  be  had  on  the 
purification  of  the  water  supplies  by  filtration,  sterilization,  or 
other  purification  methods? 

Answer:  Absolute  reliance  should  not  be  placed  upon 
the  preventive  measures  suggested,  since  the  means  of  enforcing 
them  cannot  be  made  perfectly  effective  and  the  consequence 


20  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

of  pollution  might  be  fatal  to  many  lives.  The  water  supplies 
are  occasionally  polluted  at  the  present  time.  The  water  should 
be  purified  by  mechanical  nitration.  This  method  of  treatment 
will  not  only  make  the  water  clean  and  wholesome,  but  will 
remove  the  turbid  appearance  at  times  of  storm.  The  city 
should  look  forward  to  the  filtration  of  the  entire  water  supply 
in  course  of  time  and  should  proceed  to  acquire  the  land  and 
make  the  plans  and  other  preparations  for  the  gradual  construc- 
tion of  the  filtration  works. 

Question  12 :  Will  a  harbor  on  the  lake  front  prove  to  be 
in  any  way  a  menace  to  our  water  supply  as  at  present  located 
and  derived,  and  if  so,  what  steps  can  be  taken  to  prevent  the 
contamination  of  the  water  supply  from  this  source? 

Answer:  The  filtration  of  the  water  will  protect  the  city 
water  supply  if  the  other  precautions  recommended  in  this  re- 
port are  carried  out.  Filtration  will  not  do  away  with  the 
need  of  exercising  reasonable  care  in  the  disposal  of  the  sewage 
and  other  wastes  in  such  localities  as  are  likely  to  affect  the 
quality  of  the  water  before  it  is  filtered.  With  filtration  there 
should  be  adopted  a  system  of  conservancy  for  the  lake  water 
which  will  keep  it  as  clean  as  practicable. 

4.— PLAN  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION. 

The  experts  arrived  in  Chicago  on  the  i8th  of  April, 
1914,  and  for  a  fortnight  gave  their  unremitting  attention 
to  the  investigation.  Subsequently  thirteen  months  were 
spent  in  studying  the  extensive  literature  on  the  subject 
and  in  drafting  the  final  report.  A  preliminary  report  was 
presented  to  the  Committee  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate 
Board  on  May  i,  1914. 

The  scope  of  the  inquiry  has  included  the  conditions 
under  which  the  sewage  is  discharged  and  disposed  of  and 
the  water  supply  procured.  Inspections  have  been  made 
of  the  Chicago  River  and  Drainage  Channel  throughout 
their  length,  the  Desplaines  River  from  Joliet  to  the  Kan- 
kakee,  and  the  Illinois  River  as  far  as  Henry — the  total 
distance  thus  covered  in  following  the  course  of  Chicago's 
sewage  being  approximately  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  miles.  The  experts  have  made  extensive  tours  of  in- 
spection through  the  Chicago  Drainage  District  as  far  as 
Wilmette  at  the  north  and  Riverdale  at  the  south.  The 
location  of  the  pumping  stations  which  supply  flushing 


INTRODUCTION  AND  CONCLUSIONS  2l 

water  from  the  lake  and  the  effects  of  this  water  on  the 
condition  of  the  branches  of  the  Chicago  River  which  re- 
ceive it,  have  been  noted.  The  position  of  the  intake  cribs 
through  which  the  drinking  water  supply  is  obtained  has 
been  examined  with  reference  to  the  possibility  of  pollu- 
tion from  the  shore,  from  the  Chicago  River,  from  the 
Calumet  River,  from  the  dumping  of  dredgings  and  from 
the  discharge  of  polluted  waters  and  sewage  from  passing 
vessels.  The  quality  of  the  water  as  revealed  by  analysis 
has  been  studied  with  much  care. 

The  location  of  the  various  industrial  and  residence 
sections  has  been  examined  and  the  probable  future  de- 
velopment of  Chicago  has  been  considered  with  reference 
to  the  disposal  of  the  sewage  and  the  procurement  of  a 
supply  of  satisfactory  drinking  water. 

The  condition  of  the  Chicago  River  and  the  channel 
of  the  Sanitary  District  as  it  exists  today  and  is  likely 
to  exist  in  the  future,  in  case  the  present  plan  of  sewage 
disposal  remains  unaltered,  has  received  the  Board's  at- 
tention. 

The  possibility  of  various  methods  of  disposing  of  the 
sewage,  other  than  by  the  present  plan,  has  been  dis- 
cussed at  length  with  the  information  which  has  been 
available.  A  large  amount  of  literature,  consisting  of  re- 
ports, public  addresses,  maps,  diagrams  and  correspond- 
ence, has  been  examined  and  the  Board  has  obtained  many 
facts  and  opinions  from  the  numerous  persons  with  whom 
it  has  come  in  contact. 

Officials  of  the  Sanitary  District  and  of  the  City  have, 
without  exception,  supplied  generously  and  apparently 
without  reserve,  such  information  and  opinion  as  the 
Board  has  desired.  Interviews  have  been  held  with  the 
President  and  Trustees  of  the  District,  their  Consulting 
Engineer,  the  Chief  Engineer  and  his  predecessor,  the 
Division  Engineer  in  charge  of  the  sanitary  work,  and  the 
Chief  Chemist  and  Bacteriologist  of  the  District  force. 
The  City  officer  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  sewers, 
the  City  Engineer  in  charge  of  the  water  supply,  the  Com- 
missioner of  Health  of  the  City,  the  Director  of  the  State 


22  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

Water  Survey  and  his  principal  assistants  have  been  inter- 
viewed and  have  rendered  valuable  assistance.  Meetings 
have  been  held  with  the  engineer  officer  of  the  United 
States  Government  in  charge  of  the  navigable  channels, 
and  the  attorneys  for  the  United  States  and  the  Sanitary 
District,  who  are  engaged  in  the  suit  concerning  the  power 
of  the  District  to  take  the  quantity  of  water  which  is  de- 
sired from  Lake  Michigan  through  the  Drainage  Chan- 
nel. The  voluminous  record  in  the  case  of  the  United 
States  vs.  the  Sanitary  District  has  been  examined. 

A  large  number  of  engineers  and  other  citizens,  and 
particularly  the  members  of  the  Committee  on  Harbor 
and  River  Improvement  of  The  Chicago  Real  Estate 
Board,  have  given  access  to  official  reports  and  other  data 
which  they  have  collected,  and  have  facilitated  the  inves- 
tigation in  many  ways. 

In  conducting  its  inquiries  and  in  formulating  its  opin- 
ions, the  Expert  Board  has  believed  that  it  could  be  of 
most  service  if  it  confined  itself  chiefly  to  the  large  and  es- 
sential aspects  of  the  problems  before  it.  Special  attention 
has  been  devoted  to  the  sanitary  history  of  the  city,  since 
a  knowledge  of  the  efforts  which  had  been  made  to  solve 
the  water  and  sewage  problems  was  considered  necessary 
to  an  understanding  of  the  possibilities  of  further  develop- 
ment. The  Board's  point  of  view  has  been  that  of  engi- 
neers familiar  with  the  principles  and  methods  of  sanita- 
tion in  use  in  other  great  cities  and  available  for  Chicago. 
In  arriving  at  an  opinion  upon  the  points  at  issue,  due  re- 
gard has  been  given  to  the  work  which  has  been  done  and 
to  the  intentions  for  the  future,  so  far  as  they  have  been 
expressed  by  those  who  are  in  official  charge  of  the  sewage 
disposal  and  water  supply  of  Chicago. 


Part  II 

THE  CHICAGO  REGION  AND  ITS 
WATERWAYS 

1.— SITUATION  OF  CHICAGO  AND  THE  SANITARY 

DISTRICT. 

The  City  of  Chicago,  with  a  population  of  about  two 
and  one-half  million  and  an  area  of  about  one  hundred  and 
ninety  square  miles,  lies  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  near  the 
southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  long  southward 
projection  of  the  lake  suggests  that  at  one  time  its  waters 
flowed  to  the  sea  by  way  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  This  is  probably  true,  for  that  part  of  the 
watershed  which  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago  and  is  tribu- 
tary to  Lake  Michigan  is  low  and  separated  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi drainage  area  by  a  rise  of  but  slight  elevation. 
This  circumstance  has  had  a  profound  influence  on  the 
location  of  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  solution  which  has 
been  sought  for  its  sewage  problem. 

A  direct  water  route  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi existed  from  time  immemorial,  beginning  at  Chi- 
cago, running  up  the  Chicago  River,  with  a  short  portage 
over  the  low  divide  and  thence  down  the  Desplaines  and 
Illinois  Rivers  to  the  confluence  near  St.  Louis. 

The  Illinois  River,  which  is  formed  by  the  Desplaines 
and  Kankakee,  flows  through  a  valley  which  is  about  one 
hundred  miles  wide  and  whose  length  extends  completely 
across  the  State  of  Illinois.  This  valley  contains  about 
one-half  the  population  of  the  State,  that  of  the  City  of 
Chicago  being  taken  out  of  the  calculation. 

Practically  the  whole  lake  shore  of  Illinois,  about 
sixty  miles  .long,  is  occupied  by  cities,  towns  and  villages. 
In  the  State  of  Indiana,  which  adjoins  Illinois  on  the 

23 


24  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

south,  the  settlements  are  numerous,  large  and  growing 
rapidly.  Chicago  may  be  said  to  be  the  nucleus  of  a  vast 
population,  a  large  part  of  which  has  endeavored  to  locate 
itself  on  or  near  the  lake  front  for  the  transportation  facil- 
ities and  other  advantages  which  are  there  afforded. 

The  land  upon  which  Chicago  is  situated  is  low  and 
flat.  It  is  drained  by  the  Chicago  River,  a  short  and  nat- 
urally narrow  and  sluggish  stream  with  various  branches 
which  discharge  through  a  short  main  trunk  into  Lake 
Michigan.  Immediately  to  the  south  is  a  larger,  and  in 
many  respects  similar,  watershed  which  is  drained  by  the 
Calumet  River.  At  times  of  heavy  rain  and  melting  snow 
both  streams  originally  discharged  large  volumes  of  water 
into  the  lake.  Since  1901,  the  flow  of  the  Chicago  River 
has  been  diverted  to  the  Desplaines. 

A  low  ridge  a  dozen  miles  to  the  west  of  Chicago 
separates  the  water  which  flows  to  Lake  Michigan  from 
that  which  finds  its  way  to  the  Desplaines,  Illinois  and 
Mississippi  rivers. 

Natural  harbors  suitable  for  commercial  vessels  do 
not  exist  in  Lake  Michigan  within  one  hundred  miles  of 
Chicago.  Harbor  facilities  are  afforded  by  enlarging,  pro- 
tecting and  deepening  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  and,  in 
some  cases,  by  constructing  wholly  artificial  waterways 
from  the  lake  into  the  low,  marshy  shores. 

2.— SANITARY   CONDITION   OF  THE  GREAT  LAKES. 

In  view  of  the  enormous  volume  of  water  which  the 
Great  Lakes  contain  and  the  relatively  small  population 
whose  drainage  is  tributary  to  them,  it  would  seem  that 
the  pollution  of  the  lake  waters  to  the  danger  point  for 
drinking  purposes  was  a  remote  possibility.  If  self- 
purification  can  operate  successfully  anywhere,  and  dilu- 
tion prove  an  effectual  means  of  eliminating  the  chance  of 
infection,  it  would  seem  capable  of  doing  so  here. 

Implicit  confidence,  both  in  the  original  purity  of  the 
lake  water  and  in  its  capacity  to  purify  itself  of  any  human 
wastes  which  may  be  discharged  into  it,  has  been  felt  by 
every  city  which  has  been  situated  on  the  shores.  Most 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  25 

of  them  have  discharged  their  sewage  into,  and  taken  their 
drinking  water  from,  the  lakes  and  with  fatal  results.  In 
many  cases,  the  pollution  has  been  local  and  easily  traced; 
but  studies  which  have  been  made  of  the  movements  of  the 
water  under  the  influence  of  wind  and  barometric  pres- 
sure, and  elaborate  analytical  investigations  have  recently 
shown  that  the  harmful  effects  are  not  always  confined  to 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  cities. 

However  restricted  they  may  formerly  have  been,  the 
zones  of  dangerous  pollution  have  spread  until,  with  the 
large  amount  of  polluting  material  originating  ashore  and 
afloat,  the  general  waters  in  some  parts  of  the  Great 
Lakes  and  rivers  bounding  the  United  States  and  Canada 
are  not  safe  to  drink  without  purification.  The  experts  of 
the  International  Joint  Commission,  in  dealing  with  the 
control  of  sewage  disposal  for  municipalities  on  these 
boundary  waters,  testified  that 

"The  bacteriological  tests  which  have  been  made  in  large 
numbers  under  the  direction  of  the  International  Joint  Com- 
mission indicate  that  in  most  places  the  boundary  waters  are 
such  as  to  be  a  general  menace  to  the  public  health  should  the 
water  be  used  without  purification  as  sources  of  public  water 
supply,  or  should  they  be  used  for  drinking  purposes  by  per- 
sons traveling  on  boats." 

The  International  Joint  Commission  is  a  permanent 
tribunal  with  powers  of  adjudication,  created  by  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  Its  powers 
are  very  broad  and  include  the  decision  of  practically  all 
matters  of  dispute  between  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
including  the  pollution  of  the  waters  of  the  Great  Lakes 
and  the  diversion  of  their  flow. 

The  pollution  of  the  Great  Lakes  is  growing  with  the 
rapidly  increasing  population,  and  many  considerations 
make  it  apparent  that  such  efforts  as  can  be  made  in  future 
cannot  succeed  in  keeping  the  waters  pure  enough  for 
drinking  without  treatment. 

3.— CIVIC  CHARACTER  AND  PLAN. 

Chicago  is  essentially  an  industrial  city,  but  it  is  one 
in  which  a  desire  for  higher  civic  standards  makes  itself 


26  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

strongly  felt  from  time  to  time.  In  all  that  stands  for  se- 
curity of  life  and  property,  convenience  of  transit  and 
sanitary  well-being,  Chicago  should  be,  and  intends  to  be, 
a  leading  city.  The  standards  of  cleanliness  which  are 
suitable  for  the  other  great  cities  of  the  world  seem  none 
too  high  to  apply  here. 

Chicago  is  a  leading  center  for  the  handling  of  grain, 
live  stock  and  lumber,  for  the  slaughtering  and  packing  of 
meats,  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel,  harvesting  ma- 
chinery and  other  commodities. 

The  waste  products  of  the  industries  have  contributed 
greatly  to  the  pollution  of  the  Chicago  River.  Up  to  the 
present  time,  there  has  been  little  restriction  placed  upon 
the  discharge  of  the  wastes  into  the  waterways.  In  1910 
the  value  of  the  manufactures  was  $1,300,000,000.  Of  this 
total,  $400,000,000  was  in  the  slaughtering  and  packing 
industries,  in  which  large  quantities  of  liquid  and  semi- 
liquid  wastes  are  produced. 

Judged  by  other  sanitary  conditions  than  those  of 
water  supply  and  sewage  disposal,  Chicago  cannot  be  said 
to  be  ahead  of  the  other  great  cities  of  the  world.  The 
work  of  street  cleaning  and  waste  disposal  has  not  yet 
been  placed  upon  a  plane  of  sanitary  efficiency  and  the 
effect  of  this  backwardness  is  widespread.  The  unpleas- 
ant odors  which  arise  from  the  stockyards  district  are 
sometimes  noticeable  for  miles. 

Although  generally  regarded  chiefly  as  a  center  of 
great  industrial  enterprise,  Chicago  may  fairly  claim  dis- 
tinction for  its  beautiful  homes,  handsome  business  blocks, 
libraries,  universities,  public  schools,  boulevards  and 
parks.  The  number  of  pupils  attending  the  public  schools 
exceeds  332,000  and  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  educa- 
tional system  of  the  city  exceeds  $25,000,000  annually. 

Like  most  great  cities,  Chicago  has  grown  to  its  pres- 
ent size  without  definite  plan.  Plans  have  recently  been 
made  for  future  development  and  have  received  some  of- 
ficial recognition.  These  plans  have  already  had  some 
effect  in  determining  the  manner  of  growth,  convenience 
of  transportation  and  beautification  of  the  city,  but  there 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  27 

is  a  great  deal  to  be  done  before  the  city  assumes  the  at- 
tractive and  symmetrical  appearance  which  is  intended. 

The  railroads  own  large  areas  of  land  in  the  heart  of 
the  city,  estimated  at  about  $100,000,000,  and  it  remains 
to  be  determined  how  the  interests  of  the  corporations  and 
the  public  are  to  be  harmonized.  No  railroad  or  railroad 
system  runs  a  train  through  the  city — all  trains  stop  and 
are  made  up  here  for  the  journey  or  shipments  beyond— 
Chicago  is  the  absolute  terminal  of  every  railroad  train 
that  enters  it. 

Up  to  the  present,  the  greatest  business  activity,  aside 
from  the  large  establishments  whose  land  requirements 
have  made  it  necessary  for  them  to  locate  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  has  been  in  the  region  immediately  adjoining 
the  river  and  between  the  South  Branch  of  the  Chicago 
River  and  Lake  Michigan.  The  river  has,  in  fact,  had 
more  influence  upon  the  city's  development  than  has  any 
other  local  factor. 

In  width,  depth  and  current  resembling  a  canal  rather 
than  a  natural  water  course,  the  Chicago  River  has  served 
as  a  great  highway  for  commerce  and  been  a  troublesome 
barrier  to  local  transportation.  Referring  to  it  in  his  re- 
port on  tKe  traction  problem,  in  1902,  Bion  J.  Arnold 
says:* 

"From  the  earliest  period  in  the  development  of  the  city 
down  to  the  present  time,  this  water  barrier  has  been  the  fixed 
condition  that  has  been  recognized  and  deferred  to.  Town  gov- 
ernments were  established  on  its  lines ;  it  is  the  boundary  line 
of  wards  throughout  its  course ;  the  water,  gas  and  sewerage 
systems  are  laid  out  with  reference  to  it ;  diagonal  streets  or 
avenues  to  the  business  center  are  determined  by  its  course ;  it 
is  primarily  responsible  for  the  congestion  of  the  business 
center,  limiting,  as  it  does,  by  its  movable  bridges,  the  area  to  a 
little  more  than  a  square  mile ;  the  manufacturing  district  has 
grown  up  along  its  course,  and  naturally  all  lines  of  business 
that  can  be  more  profitably  conducted  through  contact  with 
navigation  have  sought  its  frontage — all  of  which  growth  has 
so  increased  the  dock  frontage  that  the  Chicago  River,  with 

*Report  on  the  Engineering  and  Operating  Features  of  the  Chicago  Trans- 
portation Problem,  submitted  to  the  Committee  on  Local  Transportation  of  the 
Chicago  City  Club  by  Bion  J.  Arnold,  M.  S.,  M.  Ph.,  E.  K,  November,  1902, 
p.  24. 


28  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

its  movable  bridges,  must  be  considered  as  a  permanent  con- 
dition— especially  so  as  the  natural  dockage  of  Chicago,  the 
Lake  Shore,  is  being  continually  and  continuously  appropri- 
ated for  park  and  pleasure  purposes." 

A  description  of  the  Chicago  River  will  be  found  on 
p.  37  and  further  references  to  it  in  many  other  parts  of 
this  report  to  the  Real  Estate  Board. 

4.— GOVERNMENT. 

The  governmental  powers  of  Chicago  are  derived 
from  a  general  act  of  the  Illinois  Legislature  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  cities  and  villages.  The  central  governing 
body  is  the  Council,  which  is  composed  of  two  aldermen 
elected  from  each  of  the  thirty-six  wards  into  which  the 
city  is  divided. 

Most  of  the  departments  of  the  city  government  have 
been  organized  by  ordinances  passed  by  the  council  which 
has  power  to  prescribe  the  duties  of  city  officers,  adopt 
regulations  to  promote  health,  define  and  abate  nuisances, 
provide  for  the  opening,  cleaning  and  repair  of  streets, 
laying  of  water  mains  and  sewers  and  perform  many  other 
duties  of  a  legislative  character  which  are  often  incorpo- 
rated in  the  charters  of  American  cities. 

The  city  has  authority  to  construct  and  maintain 
water  works  and  to  go  outside  of  its  limits  for  this  pur- 
pose, the  powers  of  the  city  being  extended,  so  far  as  the 
authority  of  the  State  of  Illinois  will  permit,  for  the  pre- 
vention of  the  pollution  of  the  sources  of  drinking  water. 

There  are  twenty-three  departments  of  the  city  ad- 
ministration, including  those  of  public  works  and  public 
health,  each  of  which  is  presided  over  by  a  Commissioner. 
There  are  several  bureaus  in  the  Department  of  Public 
Works  and  at  the  head  of  one  is  the  City  Engineer,  who  is 
in  charge  of  the  sewers,  water  works  and  the  Chicago 
River,  so  far  as  improvements  are  made  in  that  stream  by 
the  city. 

The  Commissioner  of  Health  exercises  jurisdiction 
over  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  city,  including  the  col- 
lection of  vital  statistics,  inspection  of  milk  and  other 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  29 

food,  analysis  of  drinking  water,  inspection  of  premises, 
medical  inspection  of  schools,  maintenance  of  hospitals, 
public  baths,  etc. 

The  Mayor  is  an  elective  officer  and  is  required  to 
execute  the  laws  and  perform  such  duties  as  the  council 
may  prescribe  by  ordinance.  He  appoints  nearly  all  the 
heads  of  departments,  subject  to  approval  by  the  Council. 

The  control  of  parks,  schools,  charities,  sewage  dis- 
posal works  and  various  other  city  undertakings,  is  not 
vested  in  the  Council,  but  in  special  elective  boards.  To 
bring  about  satisfactory  co-operation  between  the  many 
independent  and  partly  related  bodies  in  the  city  govern- 
ment has  long  been  regarded  as  a  desirable,  but  very  diffi- 
cult matter. 

Lying  wholly,  or  chiefly  within  the  city  limits,  are 
nineteen  taxing  bodies;  the  City,  the  Board  of  Education, 
the  Public  Library,  thirteen  Park  Boards,  the  Sanitary 
District  and  the  County;  not  to  mention  five  Townships 
and  various  less  important  bodies. 

Mayor  Busse,  in  his  annual  message  to  the  Chicago 
City  Council,  April  12,  1909,  stated  that  of  every  $100  col- 
lected from  the  citizens  for  the  purpose  of  government, 
$6.40  went  to  the  Sanitary  District,  $6.80  went  to  the 
State,  $10.61  went  to  the  County,  $11.35  to  the  Park 
Boards  and  $35.50  to  the  public  schools. 

The  valuation  of  real  estate  and  personal  property  in 
Chicago,  as  given  by  the  Comptroller  for  1913,  was  $981,- 
787,576.00.  Making  allowance  for  the  statutory  require- 
ment that,  for  purposes  of  taxation,  property  shall  be 
valued  at  one-third  of  the  true  valuation,  it  appears  that 
the  total  correct  value  of  real  and  personal  property  in 
1913  was  $3,000,000,000. 

The  total  tax  collected  in  1913  was  $31,122,666.16  and 
the  bonded  indebtedness  $28,216,000;  the  population  was 
2,388,500.  In  1906,  when  the  population  was  two  million, 
the  tax  was  about  seventeen  and  a  half  million;  in  1890, 
with  about  one  million  inhabitants,  the  tax  was  about  nine 
and  one-half  million;  in  1880,  with  a  population  of  about 
half  a  million,  the  tax  was  about  four  million.  The  tax 


30  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

had  remained  at  or  near  this  figure  since  the  great  fire  in 
1870,  when  the  population  was  about  three  hundred  thou- 
sand.* 

5.— POPULATION. 

The  growth  of  the  city  has  been  phenomenal.  It  has 
been  said  that  "within  the  memory  of  living  men,  Chicago 
has  risen  from  a  village  sunk  in  the  mud  of  a  prairie  creek 
to  a  great  metropolis,  ranking  fifth  in  the  roll  of  the 
world's  greatest  cities."  This  remarkable  growth  has 
been  due  to  the  geographical  position  of  the  city,  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Middle  West  as  an  agricultural  region, 
the  development  of  mining,  lumber  and  live  stock  indus- 
tries, the  focussing  of  railroad  systems  and  to  the  ability 
and  enterprise  of  its  citizens.  It  is  situated  at  the  head  of 
the  great  agricultural  lowland  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Great  Lakes  region  and  holds  a  commanding  position  as  a 
center  both  for  navigation  and  land  transportation.  Over 
twenty-seven  railroad  systems  converge  here.  Seventeen 
steamship  lines  ply  the  waters  of  the  lakes.  Within  a 
single  night's  ride  by  rail  are  50,000,000  people. 

In  1840  the  population  was  4,470;  in  1850,  29,963;  in 
1860,  112,172;  in  1870,  298,977;  in  1880,  503,298;  in  1890, 
1,099,850;  in  1900,  1,698,576,  and  in  1910,  2,189,525.  In 
1914  the  population  was  estimated  by  the  United  States 
Census  Bureau  at  2,397,600.  It  is  now  increasing  at  the 
rate  of  about  150,000  per  year. 

The  growth  before  1850  was  stimulated  by  the  settle- 
ment of  the  prairies  and  by  the  opening  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal  in  1848.  An  era  of  railroad  building  ex- 
isted between  1850  and  1860;  great  industrial  activity  at- 
tended the  Civil  War,  1863-1865. 

6.— THE  CRUDE  AND  CORRECTED  DEATH  RATES. 

Comparing  the  vital  statistics  of  Chicago  with  those 
of  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  and  the  34  foreign 
cities  whose  records  are  available  for  the  period  1881  to 

*Fifty-seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  City  of  Chicago, 
1913,  p.  237. 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  31 

1910,  it  appears  that,  on  the  whole,  Chicago  has  not  been 
remarkably  successful  in  protecting  the  lives  of  its  cit- 
izens. Greater  reductions  have  been  made  in  the  death 
rate  by  18  cities,  smaller  reductions  by  19.  In  the  period 
mentioned,  Chicago's  reduction  was  32.6  per  cent,  New 
York's  38.2  per  cent,  London's  28.7  per  cent,  Paris,  28.3 
per  cent,  Berlin's  41.7  per  cent,  Amsterdam's  47.8  per 
cent,  Vienna's  39.4  per  cent. 

When  the  annual  crude  death  rate  of  this  group  of 
cities  is  brought  together  in  the  form  of  averages  for  the 
5  year  periods  1896  to  1900  and  1901  to  1905,  it  is  found 
that  Chicago's  decrease  was  i.o  per  1,000  persons  living. 
This  was  less  than  the  decrease  in  any  of  the  other  37 
cities  referred  to,  except  four. 

For  the  most  part,  Chicago's  crude  rates  both  from 
general  causes  and  from  the  so-called  preventable  diseases 
are  low,  but  if  due  allowance  is  made  for  age  and  sex,  the 
corrected  rates  are  found  to  be  considerably  higher.  Chi- 
cago is  a  city  which  attracts  the  young,  vigorous  and 
healthly-bodied  who  have  their  way  to  make  in  the  world 
and  are  prepared  to  bring  an  abundance  of  vitality  and 
resistance  to  the  task.  Like  all  great  cities  of  its  kind, 
it  is  not  the  resort  of  the  old,  feeble  or  very  young,  among 
whom  the  death  rate  is  always  high,  and  whose  effect  upon 
the  death  rate  of  the  town  wherein  they  live  may  be  con- 
siderable. 

According  to  the  calculations  of  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Census  for  1911,  there  was  a  greater  difference 
between  the  crude  and  corrected  death  rates  for  Chicago 
than  for  any  other  of  the  fifty  cities  of  the  United  States 
which  have  a  population  of  10,000  or  over,  except  four. 

Among  these  fifty  cities,  there  are  about  as  many 
with  higher  as  with  lower  corrected  rates;  but  when  the 
crude  rates  are  compared,  Chicago  appears  to  be  among 
the  healthiest.  Cities  having  higher  corrected  death  rates 
include  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  Baltimore,  Cin- 
cincinnati,  St.  Louis  and  Pittsburgh.*  In  1911  Chicago's 

*Department  of  Commerce,  Bureau  of  the  Census,  Bulletin  112:    Mortality 
Statistics,  1911,  p.  21. 


32  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

corrected  death  rate  was  16.4;  the  crude  rate  14.5;  in  1914 
the  crude  death  rate  was  14.18. 

These  corrected  death  rates  are  the  rates  which  would 
have  resulted  if  the  sex  and  age  constitution  of  the  popula- 
tion had  been  identical  with  that  of  England  and  Wales, 
as  enumerated  at  the  census  of  1901. 

The  corrected  rates  of  New  York,  London,  Paris  and 
Berlin  for  1909  were  calculated  for  the  Metropolitan  Sew- 
erage Commission  of  New  York  by  Prof.  Walter  F.  Wil- 
cox,*  who  assumed  as  a  standard  the  average  population 
of  England  and  Wales  for  the  ten  years  1891-1900.  The 
results  follow:  London,  14.2;  Berlin,  17.0;  New  York, 
18.3;  Paris,  18.9. 

Vital  statistics  are  generally  taken  to  be  a  measure  of 
the  healthfulness  of  a  city,  but  caution  is  necessary  in  ap- 
plying this  gauge.  Excessively  high  rates  generally  point 
to  some  grave  sanitary  evil,  but  small  fluctuations  are  ot 
small  importance.  It  would  scarcely  be  fair  to  conclude 
that  the  healthfulness  of  Chicago  varied  as  does  its  typhoid 
rate,  nor  that  the  success  of  the  Drainage  Channel  as  a 
sanitary  measure  was  proved  by  this  criterion  alone. 

7.— THE  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  THE  DEATH  RATES. 

It  has  generally  been  found  that  the  introduction  of  a 
material  improvement  in  a  city's  water  supply  is  followed 
by  a  decided  decrease  in  the  ordinary  number  of  deaths, 
and  it  has  often  been  remarked  that  not  only  are  such 
water-borne  diseases  as  typhoid  so  reduced,  but  reduc- 
tions are  made  also  in  diseases  which  have  no  conceivable 
relation  of  this  kind.f  The  following  facts  have  been 
collected  in  order  to  determine  what  effect,  if  any,  was 
produced  upon  the  purity  of  Chicago's  water  supply  by 
the  opening  of  the  Drainage  Canal,  so  far  as  this  effect  is 
discoverable  in  the  city's  vital  statistics. 

*Report  of  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Commission  of  New  York,  April  30, 
1914,  pp.  271-286. 

fPurification  of  Water  for  Domestic  Use — Allen  Hazen,  Paper  No.  48, 
International  Engineering  Congress,  1904,  Transactions  American  Society  of 
Civil  Engineers,  Vol.  LIV,  Part  D ;  pp.  151-153.  j 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  33 

The  period  between  1889  and  1893  was  epochal  in  the 
history  of  Chicago.  It  was  marked  by  a  great  expansion 
in  the  city's  area,  population  and  revenues.  The  area  was 
quadrupled  and  the  population  and  sum  of  money  col- 
lected by  taxation  doubled.  During  this  time,  communi- 
cable diseases  and  death  by  violence  were  uncommonly 
prevalent.  When  the  wave  passed,  as  it  did  some  years 
before  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal  was  opened,  there  was 
produced  a  far  more  profound  effect  upon  the  death  rate 
than  has  occurred  at  any  time  subsequently.  The  gen- 
eral death  rate,  which  had  averaged  21.87  Per  1,000  in  the 
four  years  following  1889,  fell  to  18.26.  Four  years  later 
it  had  declined  to  14.63,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  that  figure 
it  has  remained  ever  since.  Among  the  marked  declines 
in  specific  causes  of  death  which  followed  the  wave  were: 
typhoid  fever,  from  53.5  to  37.5  per  100,000;  pneumonia, 
from  196.1  to  116.1 ;  scarlet  fever,  from  26.3  to  14.5;  heart 
disease,  from  88.3  to  79.3,  and  violence,  from  151.7  to  1 18.4. 
Had  there  not  been  an  epidemic  of  smallpox  in  1894,  the 
drop  in  the  general  death  rate  would  have  been  still 
greater. 

The  sickly  period  from  1889  to  1893  and  the  reaction 
which  followed  are  readily  explained  by  the  changing  sani- 
tary conditions  of  those  times.  In  the  territory  which  was 
annexed  in  1889  were  six  municipalities  which  possessed 
water  works  of  their  own.  Practically  all  their  water  was 
taken  from  the  lake,  in  some  cases  through  iron  pipes 
which  extended  only  a  short  distance  from  shore.  The 
City  of  Chicago  took  over  the  management  and  recon- 
struction of  most  of  these  waterworks  at  once  and  set  to 
work  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  water. 

The  main  supply  of  the  city  was  at  that  time  obtained 
from  the  Two  Mile  Crib,  opposite  Chicago  Avenue,  which 
had  been  constructed  in  1867.  In  1891  the  Four-Mile  Crib 
was  put  in  operation  and  this  was  followed  by  the  Lake 
View  Crib  in  1896,  and  the  Carter  H.  Harrison  Crib  in 
1899.  The  improvement  produced  by  the  Four-Mile  Crib 
was  unquestionable. 

The  connection  between  the  condition  of  the  water 


34  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

supplies  and  the  health  of  the  city  was  so  plain  that  in  1897 
a  commission,  consisting  of  Samuel  Artingstall,  City  En- 
gineer, Lyman  E.  Cooley,  George  H.  Benzenberg,  Wil- 
liam Sooysmith  and  Joseph  Downey,  Commissioner  of 
Public  Works,  recommended  that  the  sewage  be  diverted 
from  the  lake  and  that  the  intakes  of  the  water  works  be 
all  extended  to  a  distance  of  four  miles  from  shore. 

8.— TYPHOID  FEVER  AND  THE  DRAINAGE  CHANNEL. 

The  opening  of  the  Drainage  Channel  seems  not  to 
have  reduced  any  of  the  death  rates  materially.  For  the 
three  years  before  the  Canal  was  opened,  the  general  rate 
was  15.0  and  for  the  three  years  following  14.5  per  1,000. 
For  the  13  years  which  have  now  passed  since  the  Canal 
was  opened,  the  average  general  death  rate  has  been  14.8. 
In  1913  it  was  15.1. 

The  average  reduction  in  typhoid  for  the  three  years 
following  the  opening  of  the  Canal  was  trifling,  32.4  to 

31.1,  and  appears  especially  inconsequent  when  it  is  noted 
that  this  average  of  32.4  contains  the  rate  of  40.8  for  the 
exceptional  typhoid  year  of   1898.     Since  the   Drainage 
Channel  was  opened,  the  average  typhoid  rate  has  been 

19.2.  In  1913,  it  was  10.4.     The  figures  since  1893  have 
shown  a  persistent  decline,  but  no  sudden  and  permanent 
fall.  There  have  been  years  when  the  rate  has  been  a  great 
deal  higher  than  these  average  figures  indicate,  as  for  ex- 
ample, in  1902,  when  the  rate  was  44.5,  and  in  1903,  when 
it  was  31.8,  and  there  have  been  nine  years  when  it  was 
less  than  the  average.     It  is  necessary  to  go  back  beyond 
the  opening  of  the  Canal,  and  beyond  the  epidemic  year  of 
the  Spanish-American  war  (1898),  in  order  to  equal  the 
rate  which  obtained  in  the  3rd  year  of  the  Canal's  oper- 
ation. 

Looking  through  the  printed  list  of  specific  causes  of 
death,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  rate  was  affected  by 
the  opening  of  the  Canal  so  much  as  the  rate  for  that  in- 
definite group  called  diarrheal  diseases,  which  includes 
diarrhea  and  enteritis  among  infants.  The  average  death 
rate  for  diarrheal  diseases  for  the  three  years  preceding 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  35 

the  opening  of  the  Canal  was  257.4  and  for  the  three  years 
subsequently  209.5,  a  reduction  of  about  19  per  cent.  The 
decrease  in  the  death  rate  among  children  under  5  years 
of  age  for  the  same  period  was  17  per  cent.  There  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  deaths  in  this  class  bear  a  meas- 
urable relation  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  city,  since 
the  statistics  are  made  up  largely  of  children  whose  diarr- 
heal  diseases  are  chiefly  caused  by  local  circumstances.  It 
seems  as  unsuitable  to  ascribe  the  reduction  which  has 
occurred  since  1900  in  diarrheal  diseases  to  the  Drainage 
Channel  as  it  is  to  charge  up  against  it  the  remarkable 
increases  which  have  occurred  in  the  prevalence  of 
Bright's  disease,  heart  disease  and  violence. 

Typhoid  fever  has  become  less  prevalent  since  the 
Drainage  Channel  was  opened  than  it  was  before,  but 
before  the  decline  is  ascribed  to  that  great  work,  it  may 
be  desirable  to  consider  some  facts  outside  of  the  Chicago 
death  rates  which  have  a  bearing  on  this  matter. 

Typhoid  is  disappearing  everywhere,  except  in  those 
places  where  its  spread  is  encouraged  by  gross  sanitary 
neglect.  In  those  parts  of  the  United  States  where  the 
vital  statistics  are  collected  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  be 
used  by  the  Government  Census  Bureau,  there  has  been 
an  average  decline  in  the  typhoid  rate  of  one-half  since 
the  opening  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Channel  in  1900, 
that  is,  from  35.9  to  17.9  per  100,000  population.  Were 
it  not  for  the  excessively  high  rates  in  some  States,  the 
average  would  be  much  lower.  The  average  rate  for  the 
cities  in  New  York  State  in  1913  was  9.9  and  in  Massa- 
chusetts 8.6. 

In  1913  the  typhoid  death  rate  of  New  York  City 
was  7.0  per  100,000;  that  of  Boston,  8.2;  Cincinnati,  6.8; 
Worcester,  5.6  and  Seattle,  4.7.  These  are  particularly 
low  rates,  but  they  are  not  lower  than  are  proper  for 
Chicago. 

Chicago  has  had  a  number  of  explosive  outbreaks 
of  typhoid  since  the  opening  of  the  Drainage  Channel, 


36  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

notably  in  1901-1902  and  1903,  and  the  circumstances 
which  have  attended  them  have  led  observers  to  form  the 
opinion  that  they  have  been  water-borne,  in  spite  of  a 
general  opinion  to  the  contrary. 

From  a  study  of  the  seasonal  incidence  of  typhoid  in 
Chicago  and  in  other  cities  with  about  the  same  rate, 
McLaughlin  formed  the  opinion  that  the  water  supply 
was  largely  to  blame.* 

9.— THE  FUTURE  CITY. 

How  large  Chicago  will  become  within  the  period 
of  years  for  which  it  is  desirable  to  project  works  for 
water  supplies  and  sewage  disposal  it  is  impossible  to  say 
with  accuracy.  Apparently  the  era  of  phenomenal  ex- 
pansion is  passed,  and  it  seems  likely  that  the  future  in- 
crease in  population  will  follow  the  rates  of  increase  of 
other  large  cities  of  great  industrial  and  commercial  ac- 
tivity. 

It  is  well  known  that  after  cities  become  very  large 
they  do  not  maintain  the  rapid  rates  of  growth  which 
sometimes  attend  their  early  development.  There  is  a 
decreasing  rate  of  increase  after  the  population  becomes 
great.  If  the  rate  of  growth  of  Chicago  was  to  continue, 
as  in  the  past,  the  city  would  have  a  population  of  13,000,- 
ooo  in  1952.  If  it  conforms  to  the  law  of  decreasing  rate 
of  increase,  as  shown  by  Mr.  Arnold  for  European  cities 
of  the  greatest  size,  the  population  in  that  year  would 
be  5,2OO,ooo.f  Some  figure  between  these  two  estimates 
will  undoubtedly  be  realized. 

According  to  the  1911  report  of  Mr.  Wisner,  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Sanitary  District, J  the  population  of  Chi- 
cago up  to  the  year  1942  may  be  estimated  as  follows: 

*Sewage  Pollution  of  Interstate  and  International  Waters  with  Special 
Reference  to  the  Spread  of  Typhoid  Fever,  Hygienic  Laboratory  Bulletin  No.  83, 
March,  1912,  by  Allan  J.  McLaughlin  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service  pp.  147-152. 

fit  has  been  estimated  that  the  transient  population  of  Chicago  will  be 
300,000  per  day  by  the  year  1920. 

^Report  on  Sewage  Disposal  made  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Sani- 
tary District  of  Chicago  by  George  M.  Wisner,  Oct.  12,  1911,  p.  37. 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  37 

Year.  Population. 

1920 2,900,000 

1922 3,000,000 

1930 3,500,000 

1940 4,100,000 

1942 4,200,000 

It  is  of  great  importance  in  planning  sewage  dis- 
posal works  that  the  future  populations  shall  be  esti- 
mated with  the  utmost  practicable  accuracy,  not  only  for 
the  whole  district  to  be  covered,  but  for  many  parts  of 
it,  for  in  this  way  only  can  a  correct  idea  be  formed  of 
the  provisions  which  it  will  be  necessary  and  sufficient 
to  make  for  the  sewage.  If  such  estimates  have  not  al- 
ready been  made,  they  should  be  prepared  at  once.  Fail- 
ure to  forsee  and  provide  for  the  remarkable  growth  in 
population  which  has  occurred  has,  from  the  first,  been 
one  of  the  leading  faults  of  those  who  have  moulded 
Chicago's  sewage  disposal  policies. 

10.— THE  CHICAGO  RIVER. 

The  site  of  Chicago  is  low  and  flat  with  layers  of 
clayey  and  sandy  subsoil.  Through  the  center  of  the 
city  flows  the  Chicago  River  with  a  drainage  area  of  270 
square  miles  and  a  discharge  of  10,000  cubic  feet  per  sec- 
ond at  times  of  storm. 

The  Chicago  River  originally  flowed  into  Lake  Mich- 
igan, but  it  now  flows,  with  a  considerable  amount  of  lake 
water,  to  the  Illinois  by  way  of  the  Sanitary  and  Ship 
Canal,  which  was  completed  in  1900,  with  the  double  ob- 
ject of  affording  means  by  which  the  sewage  of  the  city 
could  be  kept  from  the  water  supply  which  is  derived 
from  the  lake  and  providing  a  highway  for  commerce 
between  the  lake  and  the  Mississippi.  As  yet  no  com- 
merce of  importance  has  followed  this  route — a  fact  which 
is  said  to  be  due  to  the  unimproved  portion  of  the  river 
sections  in  the  Illinois  Valley. 

Originally  the  harbor  of  Chicago  could  be  used  by 
none  but  the  smallest  craft  and  then  only  when  tempor- 
arily deepened  by  scour  due  to  freshets.  Before  improve- 


38  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

merit,  its  mouth  was  nearly  a  mile  south  of  its  present 
location.  The  first  improvement  made  in  1833  was  to 
cut  through  a  sand  spit  where  the  river  made  a  sharp 
turn,  and  so  connect  the  river  with  the  lake.  Breakwaters 
were  then  constructed  in  the  lake  to  protect  the  river  en- 
trance and  afford  shelter  to  vessels.  Subsequently,  piers 
and  bulkheads  were  built  along  the  navigable  portions  of 
the  river  and  a  great  deal  of  dredging  was  carried  on. 
There  is  now  a  least  depth  of  21  feet  at  the  harbor  en- 
trance and  a  width  of  about  470  feet,  narrowing  to  about 
200  feet,  a  short  distance  back  from  the  mouth. 

At  a  point  of  about  i  mile  from  its  mouth  the  river 
bifurcates  into  a  North  and  South  Branch,  both  of  which 
have  been  improved  for  a  distance  of  about  four  and  five 
miles,  respectively.  The  South  Branch  is  divided  into 
the  South  and  West  forks,  and  the  south  fork  into  the 
east  and  west  arms.  There  are  other  channels  and  divi- 
sions of  lesser  importance.  The  total  length  improved 
by  the  United  States  Government  is  13.28  miles.*  Along 
the  main  channels  of  these  stretches  are  22  miles  of  docks 
and  wharves  and  6.93  miles  of  slips. 

The  more  important  part  of  the  river  is  spanned  by 
57  bridges,  including  9  railroads,  38  highways,  i  elevated 
railway,  2  combined  highway  and  elevated  railways,  and 
5  temporary  bridges.  A  turning  basin,  of  580  feet  least 
diameter,  is  located  in  the  North  Branch  and  another,  of 
522  feet  diameter,  is  in  the  South  Branch. 

The  main  trunk  of  the  river  lies  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  city  and  extends  its  length  of  about  a  mile  in  a  direc- 
tion perpendicular  to  the  shore  of  the  lake.  Both  the 
North  and  South  Branches  lie  approximately  parallel  to 
the  lake  shore  for  a  portion  of  their  course.  Of  the  two, 
the  northern  branch  is  the  longer  and  less  important:  its 
total  length  is  about  35  miles.  The  South  Branch  flows 
in  a  southwesterly  direction  and,  at  a  distance  between  5 
and  6  miles  from  the  lake,  is  divided  into  the  South  and 

*Bulletin  No.  23,  Survey  of  the  Northern  and  Northwestern  Lakes,  United 
States  War  Department,   Corps   of  Engineers,   1914,  p.  79. 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  39 

West  Forks,  the  former  being  of  the  greater  interest  in 
the  present  inquiry. 

The  amount  of  dredging  done  in  the  Chicago  River 
is  indicated  in  part  in  the  following  account  of  improve- 
ments by  the  United  States,  which  is  taken  from  a  com- 
munication addressed  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Experts  by  Lieut.  Col.  A.  V.  Judson,  Corps  of  Engineers, 
U.  S.  Army. 

The  parts  of  the  river  which  have  been  improved  by 
the  U.  S.  Government  are  as  follows:  The  Main  River 
to  the  junction;  the  North  Branch  to  Belmont  Avenue; 
the  South  Branch  to  Ashland  Avenue,  and  South  Fork 
to  the  Stockyards. 

The  first  improvement  by  the  U.  S.  Government  was 
begun  in  1896  and  consisted  in  dredging  the  main  river 
and  its  branches  to  a  depth  of  17  feet.  Between  1896  and 
1898  inclusive,  the  total  amount  dredged  to  that  depth 
was  1,873,906  cubic  yards.  By  Act  of  Congress  approved 
March  2,  1907,  the  project  depth  for  the  river  and  its 
branches  was  fixed  at  21  feet,  and  in  1908  the  main  river 
from  the  harbor  to  the  Forks  was  dredged  to  that  depth. 
In  1900  the  Sanitary  District  Canal  was  opened  and,  under 
a  permit  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  South  Branch 
was  deepened  and  widened  by  the  District  authorities;  no 
dredging  has  been  done  in  the  South  Branch  of  the  river 
by  the  U.  S.  Government  since  the  original  depth  of  17 
feet  was  secured  in  1896  to  1898. 

There  is  no  yearly  dredging  done  in  the  river  and 
branches  by  the  United  States  Government  to  maintain 
the  project  depth.  Such  work  is  done  whenever  appro- 
priations are  made  and  in  places  where  most  needed.  It 
is,  therefore,  impracticable  to  give  any  definite  statement 
as  to  regular  yearly  dredging  required.  In  Col.  Judson's 
opinion,  however,  an  approximation  might  be  obtained  by 
comparison  between  the  first  time  the  2i-foot  channel  was 
secured  in  the  North  Branch  and  the  time  when  the  same 
channel  was  redredged  to  the  same  depth,  and  by  dividing 
the  amount  dredged  the  second  time  by  the  intervening 
period.  Thus,  between  1912  and  1914  the  greater  portion 


40  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

of  the  North  Branch  was  redredged  to  21  feet  by  the  re- 
moval of  322,552  cubic  yards  and  the  balance  of  this 
branch  is  now  under  contract  to  be  dredged  to  the  same 
depth  in  the  spring  of  1915.  The  amount  estimated  to  be 
removed  under  this  contract  is  203,000  cubic  yards.  If 
this  amount  is  added  to  the  amount  given  above,  the  total 
will  represent  approximately  the  fill  during  the  period 
since  the  first  time  the  2i-foot  channel  was  secured,  ap- 
proximately 7  years.  The  said  total  amounts  to  525,552 
which,  divided  by  7,  gives  75,077  cubic  yards  as  the  aver- 
age fill  per  annum. 

In  addition  to  the  dredging  done  by  the  government 
engineers,  the  Sanitary  District  has  removed  1,500,000 
cubic  yards  in  widening  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal 
from  Robey  Street  to  Summit.  In  addition,  there  have 
been  dredged  by  the  District  567,390  cubic  yards  of  ma- 
terial in  1910,  283,994  cubic  yards  in  1911,  and  122,320 
cubic  yards  in  1913.  Of  this  amount,  693,334  cubic  yards 
have  been  removed  from  the  South  Branch,  and  280,380 
cubic  yards  from  the  east  and  west  arms  of  the  South 
'Fork,  known  as  "Bubbly  Creek."  The  grand  total  dredged 
by  the  Sanitary  District,  according  to  the  foregoing,  is 
2,473,000  cubic  yards. 

During  the  last  two  years  most  of  the  material 
dredged  from  the  Chicago  River  and  the  Drainage  Chan- 
nel has  been  placed  behind  bulkheads  and  the  material 
not  so  placed  has  been  dumped  eight  miles  out  into  the 
lake  in  60  to  70  feet  of  water,  which  is  considered  by  the 
District  to  be  of  sufficient  depth  so  that  the  wave  action 
will  not  disturb  the  material  on  the  bottom  of  the  lake. 
The  District  states  that  the  material  taken  eight  miles 
from  shore  has  been  virgin  clay  and  all  sludge  and  sewage 
mud  has  been  dumped  behind  bulkheads. 

Vessels  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  pass 
through  the  main  trunk  of  the  river  with  its  five  bridges, 
and  the  South  Branch  with  its  twenty-one  bridges,  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Drainage  Canal.  Through  this  distance  of 
six  miles  the  shores  are  bulkheaded  and  for  the  most  part 
compactly  built  up  or  occupied  by  railroad  terminals. 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  41 

The  uses  of  the  Chicago  River  are  threefold:  (i)  It 
affords  means  for  the  through  movement  of  boats;  (2)  It 
provides  wharfage  for  the  loading  and  unloading  of  car- 
goes, and,  (3)  It  serves  as  an  open  sewer. 

11.— THE  WATER  ROUTE  TO  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

The  construction  of  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal, 
together  with  the  improvements  which  have  been  made 
in  the  Chicago  River,  afford  an  important  link  in  what  is 
intended  to  be  a  deep  waterway  from  the  Great  Lakes  to 
the  Mississippi,  a  distance  of  327  miles,  having  a  prelim- 
inary depth  of  14  feet  and  an  ultimate  depth  of  24  feet. 

The  Sanitary  Canal  joins  the  Chicago  River  at  a 
point  about  6  miles  from  its  mouth  and  extends  to  Lock- 
port,  about  30  miles.  For  the  first  7  miles  the  canal  was 
built  no  feet  wide,  and  for  the  next  7  miles  202  feet  wide, 
at  the  bottom,  with  side  slopes  of  i  on  2.  The  remaining 
half  is  1 60  feet  on  the  bottom  and  approximately  vertical 
at  the  sides.  At  the  southern  end  of  the  canal  are  the  reg- 
ulating works  and  the  power  plant  where  the  fall  is  con- 
verted into  electric  current. 

From  the  Sanitary  Canal  the  water  route  at  present 
is  by  way  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  which  fol- 
lows the  Illinois  Valley  to  La  Salle,  where  it  joins  the 
river,  63  miles  from  Lockport.  In  this  reach  there  are  n 
locks.  Boats  navigate  the  canal  provided  they  do  not 
exceed  100  feet  in  length  and  draw  more  than  4  feet  2 
inches.  The  Illinois  River  is  223  miles  long  from  La  Salle 
to  the  Mississippi  and  is  provided  with  four  dams  which 
have  a  total  fall  of  about  27  feet.* 

Most  of  the  sewage-and-water  mixture  which  is  car- 
ried by  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal  is  discharged  into  the 
Desplaines  River  near  the  point  where  it  connects  with 
the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal.  The  Desplaines  at  this 
point  is  a  small  stream  whose  natural  flow  varies  ex- 
ceedingly. 

*For  brief  description  of  hydrographic  features  and  the  discharges  of  the 
Illinois  River  and  its  tributaries  see  Report  of  Rivers  and  Lake  Commission 
of  Illinois  1914,  Water  Resources  of  Illinois,  by  A.  H.  Horton,  Hydraulic  Engi- 
neer, U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 


42  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

The  Illinois  River  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
Desplaines  and  Kankakee,  54  miles  from  Lake  Michigan. 
The  upper  Illinois,  including  the  Desplaines,  flows  through 
a  rockbound  valley  from  Joliet  to  Utica,  58  miles,  in  which 
distance  the  stream  has  a  natural  declivity  of  104.6  feet. 
The  lower  Illinois,  from  Utica  to  the  Mississippi,  is  230 
miles  long  and  has  a  declivity  of  28  feet. 

The  entire  Illinois  River  basin  contains  about  one- 
half  the  area  and,  with  Chicago,  about  70  per  cent,  of  the 
population  of  the  State.  The  topography  is  gentle  and 
rolling;  the  soil  is  rich.  The  southern  part  contains  about 
350,000  acres  of  swamp  or  land  which  is  subject  to  flood 
at  periods  of  excessively  high  water. 

The  low  water  volume  of  the  Illinois  is  about  633 
second  feet,  and  the  flood  volume  93,600  second  feet,  at 
La  Salle.  Dams  and  locks  in  aid  of  navigation  have  been 
built  by  the  State  at  Henry  and  Copperas  Creek,  about 
33  and  93  miles,  respectively,  below  Utica,  and  by  the 
United  States  at  La  Grange  and  Kampsville,  about  152 
and  198  miles  below  Utica,  respectively. 

Claims  for  damages  to  land  from  flooding  have  been 
awarded,  lodged  or  preferred  against  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict of  Chicago,  aggregating  about  $8,000,000.  The 
claims  pertain  mostly  to  the  first  reach. 

In  November,  1908,  the  people  of  the  State  voted  to 
authorize  the  issue  of  bonds  not  to  exceed  $20,000,000 
"for  the  construction  of  a  deep  waterway  along  the  route 
between  Lockport  and  Utica  and  for  the  equipment  and 
maintenance  of  dams,  locks,  bridges  and  power  plants  for 
the  development  and  utilization  of  water  power."  The 
Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  has  expended  upon  the  Lakes 
to  the  Gulf  Deep  Waterway  project  something  like  $80,- 
000,000.  The  United  States  has  been  asked  to  co-operate 
to  the  extent  of  $16,000,000. 

12.— THE  SANITARY  DISTRICT  OF  CHICAGO. 

The  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  was  created  in  ac- 
cordance with  an  act  of  the  Illinois  Legislature  in  1889, 
authorizing  the  creation  of  sanitary  districts  "whenever 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  43 

any  area  of  contiguous  territory  within  the  limits  of  a 
single  county  shall  contain  two  or  more  cities,  towns  or 
villages,  and  shall  be  so  situated  that  the  maintenance  of 
a  common  outlet  for  the  drainage  thereof  will  conduce 
to  the  preservation  of  the  public  health." 

The  corporate  authority  of  the  District  is  lodged  in 
a  Board  of  Trustees  composed  of  nine  elective  members. 
This  body  has  full  power  to  pass  ordinances  for  the  con- 
duct of  their  business,  which  is  to  "provide  for  the  drain- 
age of  such  district  by  laying  out,  establishing,  construct- 
ing and  maintaining  one  or  more  channels,  drains,  ditches 
and  outlets  for  carrying  off  and  disposing  of  the  drainage 
(including  the  sewage),  of  such  district,  together  with 
such  adjuncts  and  additions  thereto  as  may  be  necessary 
or  proper  to  cause  such  channels  or  outlets  to  accomplish 
the  end  for  which  they  are  designed  in  a  satisfactory  man- 


ner." 


The  Sanitary  Act  does  not  require  that  sewerage  sys- 
tems of  incorporated  cities  within  the  Sanitary  District 
should  pass  immediately  under  the  control  of  the  trustees, 
but  upon  the  completion  of  the  main  channels  and  ad- 
juncts all  auxiliary  channels  and  drains  may  pass  under 
their  control.  The  main  object  of  the  act  is  to  provide 
for  the  construction  of  main  channels  through  which  the 
drainage  and  sewage  of  the  District  may  be  discharged, 
and  the  bringing  of  the  sewage  of  the  District  into  such 
channels. 

The  District  may  borrow  money  and  issue  bonds 
therefor,  and  may  provide  for  the  collection  of  a  direct 
annual  tax  to  pay  the  interest  and  retire  the  bonds  cov- 
ered by  its  obligations. 

The  area  of  the  Sanitary  District  when  it  was  in- 
stituted was  185  square  miles;  it  is  now  twice  this  size. 
In  1903,  large  additions  to  the  original  territory  were 
made  to  the  north  and  south,  and  subsequently  some  land 
was  added  to  the  west.  The  total  area  in  1914  was  386.2 
square  miles. 

The  northern  part  lies  in  the  drainage  basin  of  the 
Chicago  River  and  the  southern  in  the  basin  of  the  Calu- 


44  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

met.  According  to  the  United  States  Census  figures,  the 
population  of  the  Sanitary  District  in  1910  was  2,311,810; 
of  the  Calumet,  134,370.  The  population  of  the  District 
is  about  97  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the  county. 

The  Calumet  region  comprises  that  part  of  Chicago 
which  lies  south  of  87th  Street,  Chicago,  the  Township 
of  Calumet  and  parts  of  three  other  townships  which  lie 
wholly  in  the  Calumet  drainage  basin.  The  whole  basin 
of  the  river  is  not  confined  to  the  Chicago  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict or  to  the  State  of  Illinois.  Much  of  it  lies  in  the 
State  of  Indiana,  and  the  rapidly  increasing  population 
upon  it  is  not  capable  of  sanitary  regulation  by  the  Dis- 
trict. 

The  Illinois  Legislature  which  annexed  the  northern 
and  southern  territories  to  the  Chicago  Sanitary  District 
provided  that  these  two  areas  should  be  drained  by  canals 
through  which  the  sewage  should  flow  with  dilution  water 
at  the  same  ratio  as  the  sewage  which  flows  through  the 
main  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal  of  Chicago.  Authority  was 
also  given  to  construct  such  adjuncts  to  these  drainage 
canals  as  might  be  "necessary  or  proper  to  cause  such 
channels  or  outlets  to  accomplish  the  end  for  which  they 
are  designed  in  a  satisfactory  manner." 

The  main  channel  which  reversed  the  flow  of  the 
Chicago  River,  controlling  works,  bridges  and  right  of 
way  had  cost  about  $26,600,000  up  to  January,  1912.  The 
Chicago  River,  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  canal  at  Robey  Street,  was  improved  and 
bridges  built  at  a  cost  of  $10,920,000.  The  North  Shore 
Channel,  which  runs  from  Wilmette  and  the  lake  to  the 
North  Branch  of  the  Chicago  River  at  Lawrence  Avenue, 
and  which  provided  an  outlet  for  the  sewage  of  the  city  of 
Evanston  and  the  towns  of  Kenilworth,  Glencoe,  Win- 
netka  and  Wilmette,  cost  $3,205,000.  The  Calumet-Sag 
Channel,  now  under  construction,  is  estimated  to  cost 
about  $6,700,000. 

In  addition  to  providing  for  sewage  disposal,  the  Dis- 
trict has  developed  a  large  water  power  at  Lockport,  and 
is  generating  electric  current  which  is  furnished  to  the 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   WATERWAYS  45 

City  of  Chicago,  the  County,  the  park  governments  and 
other  municipal  corporations. 

13.— TOTAL  COST  OF  THE  WATER  AND  SEWAGE  WORKS 

The  work  done  by  the  Sanitary  District  from  its  cre- 
ation to  January  i,  1913,  has  cost  approximately  as  fol- 
lows: Construction  of  the  Drainage  Channel  and  con- 
trolling works,  $19,813,197;  right  of  way,  $9,703,018; 
bridges,  $6,633,073;  North  Shore  Channel  and  Wilmette 
Pumping  Station,  $1,450,986;  Chicago  River  diversion  and 
North  Branch  improvements,  $3,666,720;  flushing  and 
sewers,  $782,150;  Joliet  project,  including  bridges,  $1,601,- 
104;  miscellaneous,  $167,404;  administration,  engineering, 
legal  and  clerical  expenses,  $6,658,923;  damages,  lands, 
marine,  personal,  $276,782.  The  contract  work  and  dredg- 
ing in  1913  and  1914  was  estimated  at  $2,386,085. 

The  city  of  Chicago  is  stated  to  have  spent  the  fol- 
lowing sums  toward  the  completion  of  the  main  drainage 
scheme:  Intercepting  sewers,  land,  etc.,  $5,312,025;  Ful- 
lerton  Avenue  Pumping  Station,  $115,309;  Lawrence  Ave- 
nue Pumping  Station,  $452,636;  Thirty-ninth  Street 
Pumping  Station,  $944,144. 

By  allowing  bond  interest  and  interest  on  the  cost  of 
construction  pending  the  completion  of  the  works,  a  total 
of  $76,067,582  has  been  computed  by  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict as  the  entire  cost  of  the  present  scheme  of  disposing 
of  the  sewage.  The  annual  cost  of  the  project  is  stated 
to  be  $508,832. 

It  is  estimated  by  the  District  that  the  total  capital- 
ization and  construction  cost  of  the  Calumet-Sag  Chan- 
nel will  be  $19,449,470  when  developed  for  2,000  cubic 
feet. 

The  city  of  Chicago  has  spent  on  sewers,  exclusive 
of  intercepting  sewers,  $31,867,269  from  1855  to  January 
i,  1912.  The  sewers  in  the  outlying  towns  have  cost  $5,- 
246,764. 

The  water  supply  of  Chicago  up  to  January,  1913, 
had  cost  $49,948,318,  and  the  outlying  towns  in  the  Sani- 


46  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

tary  District  have  spent  about  $2,000,000  additional  on 
water  works.  No  allowance  is  made  for  interest  during 
construction  in  these  figures. 

Adding  the  expenditures  of  the  Sanitary  District,  the 
City  of  Chicago  and  the  outlying  towns  for  sewage  and 
water  makes  a  total  of  $150,908,189. 


Part  III 


WATER   SUPPLY 

The  history  of  Chicago's  water  supplies  is  an  account 
of  efforts  to  get  water  of  a  sufficient  degree  of  purity,  and 
at  the  same  time  keep  pace  with  an  unprecedented  in- 
crease in  the  consumption.  From  the  time  of  its  first  set- 
tlement to  the  present  day,  the  city  has  had  trouble  with 
the  quality  of  its  water  supply,  and  although  the  supply 
has  been  greatly  improved  from  time  to  time,  the  increas- 
ing quantities  of  filth  to  be  disposed  of  and  the  more  and 
more  exacting  requirements  of  purity  have  rendered  the 
water  problem  peculiarly  difficult. 

To  a  considerable  extent,  the  argument  for  the  Drain- 
age and  Ship  Canal  was  an  argument  for  clean  water,  for 
although  the  commercial  advantages  of  the  undertaking 
had  some  weight  and  the  desire  to  abate  the  nuisance  of 
the  Chicago  River  was  also  a  strong  moving  factor,  the 
need  of  keeping  the  sewage  away  from  what  has  always 
been  considered  the  only  possible  source  of  water  for  the 
city  was  felt  to  be  a  prime  necessity. 

Throughout  its  history,  Chicago  has  looked  upon 
Lake  Michigan  not  only  as  the  single  source  of  drink- 
ing water  available,  but  one  which  would  be  ideal,  if  it 
could  be  protected  from  sewage. 

Practically  every  city  and  town  on  the  Great  Lakes 
which  is  large  enough  to  have  water  works  obtains  its 
public  drinking  water  from  the  lake  upon  which  it  is  sit- 
uated and  into  which  it  discharges  its  sewage,  the  total 
population  thus  supplied  exceeding  5,000,000  in  1913.  The 
next  largest  city  after  Chicago  to  use  water  from  the  lakes 
is  Cleveland,  on  Lake  Erie,  with  an  estimated  population 
in  1913  of  622,699  and  typhoid  death  rate  of  14.2.  The 
Cleveland  intake  is  about  four  miles  from  shore.  Im- 

47 


48  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

proved  methods  of  sewage  disposal  and  the  purification 
of  the  water  are  being  introduced  at  both  Cleveland  and 
Milwaukee,  the  two  great  cities  nearest  to  Chicago  on  the 
Great  Lakes.  Buffalo  and  Detroit,  each  with  a  popula- 
tion over  450,000,  use  lake  water  and  their  typhoid  rates 
in  1913  were  15.8  and  17.3,  respectively. 

The  intakes  which  are  built  by  the  lake  towns  run 
out  from  shore  for  varying  distances  up  to  four  miles  and 
into  water  seldom  exceeding  50  feet.  A  depth  of  50  feet 
is  considered"  desirable  in  order  to  avoid  turbid  water. 
The  Detroit  intake  is  in  75  feet  of  water  and  the  Oswego 
intake  is  in  83  feet,  but  these  are  exceptional.  The  largest 
intakes  are  tunnels;  the  smallest  are  pipes  laid  on  the  lake 
bottom. 

In  most  cases,  an  attempt  is  made  to  avoid  pollution 
by  placing  the  intake  as  far  as  practicable  from  the  prin- 
cipal locality  where  the  sewage  is  discharged,  and  at  such 
a  point  that  the  natural  drift  of  the  lake  currents  will 
carry  the  sewage  away,  and  not  toward,  the  intake.  In 
most  cases  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  occasional  pollution 
for,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  a  considerable  amount  of 
study  has  been  given  to  the  subject  by  various  govern- 
mental agencies,  comparatively  little  is  generally  under- 
stood concerning  the  horizontal  and  vertical  movements 
of  the  water  under  the  influence  of  wind  and  temperature 
changes.  The  surface  and  bottom  currents  may,  and 
often  do,  flow  in  opposite  directions. 

In  an  admirable  review  of  the  conditions  under  which 
public  water  supplies  are  taken  from  the  Great  Lakes, 
Professor  Whipple  states  as  follows:* 

"The  evidence  is  conclusive  that  natural  methods  of  puri- 
fication cannot  be  depended  upon  to  protect  the  sanitary  quality 
of  the  water  supplies  taken  from  the  Great  Lakes.  Practically 
every  city,  whether  great  or  small,  that  has  depended  solely 
upon  the  protection  afforded  by  dilution  and  a  supposedly  re- 
mote location  of  the  intake  from  the  sewers  has  suffered  from 
water-borne  diseases.  As  a  rule  the  smaller  cities  have  suffered 

*Sanitary  Protection  of  the  Water  Supplies  taken  from  the  Great  Lakes, 
by  George  C.  Whipple,  Eighth  International  Congress  of  Applied  Chemistry, 
Vol.  XXVI,  p.  298. 


WATER   SUPPLY  49 

more  than  the  large  cities  as  their  water  supply  intakes  and 
sewer  outfalls  are  nearer  together.  The  visitations  of  typhoid 
fever  have  often  been  intermittent,  and  their  failure  to  occur 
at  regular  seasons  engenders  a  false  sense  of  security;  but 
sooner  or  later,  when  the  necessary  combination  of  currents  and 
infection  occurs,  every  lake  city  that  fails  to  protect  its  water 
supply  is  bound  to  suffer  from  water-borne  diseases." 

Dr.  McLaughlin  of  the  United  States  Health  Service 
has  classified  American  cities  according  to  the  typhoid 
statistics  as  having  water  supplies  which  are  (i)  safe, 
(2)  subject  to  intermittent  pollution  with  great  dilution 
of  polluting  material,  (3)  liable  to  intermittent  and  occa- 
sionally gross  pollution  and  (4)  exposed  to  gross,  con- 
stant pollution. 

In  class  3  are  Cleveland,  Detroit,  Buffalo,  Milwaukee 
and  Chicago.  Commenting  on  this  class,  Dr.  McLaughlin 
says:* 

"These  water  supplies  are  not  safe.  The  pollution,  though 
intermittent  and  diluted,  may  be  responsible  for  many  cases  in 
the  winter  and  spring  months.  In  these  big  progressive  cities 
the  other  conditions  bearing  upon  typhoid  prophylaxis  are  apt 
to  be  good,  and  a  rather  low  typhoid  rate  is  usually  the  result." 

1.— THE  FIRST  PRIVATE  SUPPLIES. 

The  first  water  supplies  of  Chicago  were  obtained 
from  private  wells  dug  in  the  sand  and  clay  to  a  depth  of 
from  six  to  twelve  feet.  The  excrement  of  the  inhabi- 
tants was  emptied  into  privy  vaults  which  were  sunk  into 
the  same  soil  and  often  in  close  proximity  to  the  wells. 
As  the  vaults  were  seldom  tight,  and  as  dish  water  and 
other  household  slops  were  commonly  thrown  upon  the 
ground  on  individual  premises,  or  in  the  streets,  where  the 
wells  were  located,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  drinking 
water  of  the  growing  municipality  often  became  contam- 
inated. The  Illinois  State  Board  of  Health  Report  of  1901 
quotes  an  early  resident  of  Chicago,  writing  in  the  Sani- 
tary News  in  1884,  as  follows: 

*Sewage  Pollution  of  Interstate  and  International  Waters  with  Special 
Reference  to  the  Spread  of  Typhoid  Fever,  by  Allan  J.  McLaughlin;  Hygienic 
Laboratory  Bulletin  No.  77,  July,  1911,  p.  26. 


50  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

"In  time  the  water  drawn  from  the  wells  began  to  taste — 
a  little  brackish  at  first,  then  saltish  and  then  it  had  a  percep- 
tible odor  which  ultimately  became  offensive.  A  well  at  length 
had  the  odors  characteristic  of  a  privy  vault.  When  it  rained, 
the  water  in  the  well  and  privy  vault  rose  accordingly ;  unless 
the  prudent  householder  'banked'  the  latter  it  often  over- 
flowed." 

The  unsatisfactory  water  to  be  obtained  from  wells 
brought  a  new  enterprise  into  existence.  Water  was 
brought  from  the  lake  in  hogsheads  mounted  on  wheels 
and  drawn  by  horses.  The  vehicle  was  backed  into  the 
lake,  often  at  the  foot  of  Randolph  Street,  and  filled  by 
means  of  buckets.  The  driver  then  proceeded  through 
the  streets  and  sold  the  water  to  those  who  wanted  it. 
This  custom  continued  up  to  1846,  at  which  time  the  pop- 
ulation was  about  14,000. 

The  first  official  action  toward  a  public  water  supply 
was  on  November  10,  1834,  when  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  Village  of  Chicago  appropriated  $95.50  for  digging 
a  public  well  on  Michigan  Avenue  to  supply  a  small  col- 
ony on  the  North  Side.  According  to  Andrea's  History 
of  Chicago,  "the  settlers  early  cast  longing  eyes  towards 
the  lake,  realizing  that  that  source  of  water  supply  was 
the  true  one  and  not  to  be  compared  to  the  sluggish  and 
unprepossessing  river"  from  which  many  poor  people 
from  necessity  were  compelled  to  get  their  water. 

In  March,  1836,  the  Chicago  Hydraulic  Company  was 
incorporated  by  special  act  of  the  Legislature,  and  in 
1840  it  laid  an  inlet  pipe,  about  fifteen  inches  in  diameter, 
five  hundred  feet  into  the  lake  at  the  foot  of  Van  Buren 
Street.  On  shore  was  a  tank  of  about  600  barrels  capac- 
ity, raised  slightly  above  the  surface  of  the  ground.  A 
100  horse-power  engine  raised  the  water  into  the  tank, 
from  which  it  flowed  through  a  system  of  pipes  made  of 
pine  logs  bored  by  hand  and  bound  with  iron  hoops.  The 
company  existed  about  fifteen  years,  although  it  appears 
that  about  80  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants  obtained  their 
water  from  wells  or  water  carts. 


WATER    SUPPLY  51 

2.— THE  FIRST  PUBLIC  SUPPLY. 

In  1847  the  water  supply  was  of  a  quality  which 
called  for  purification,  and  in  1854  the  city  put  its  own 
water  works  into  operation,  having  bought  out  the 
Hydraulic  Company.  The  population  was  then  estimated 
at  75,000.  The  water  was  taken  from  an  inlet  basin  at  the 
foot  of  Chicago  Avenue,  the  basin  being  separated  from 
the  lake  by  a  semi-circular  breakwater  with  an  opening 
to  the  southeast.  The  distance  from  this  intake  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Chicago  River  was  about  3,000  feet.  From 
the  Board  of  Health  Report  of  1901,  already  quoted,  it  ap- 
pears that: 

"Already  the  discharge  of  sewage  into  the  lake  from  the 
river  had  caused  annoyance  and  an  alternative  location  for  the 
pumping  works  at  a  considerable  distance  south  of  the  Chi- 
cago river  was  suggested,  but  it  was  not  considered  of  suffi- 
cient moment  to  change  the  location  from  that  given  above." 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  city,  which  occurred  soon 
after  the  introduction  of  the  sewerage  system  and  the 
opening  of  the  water  works,  together  with  the  establish- 
ment of  the  packing  industries,  distilleries,  etc.,  so  in- 
creased the  quantity  of  filth  discharged  into  the  lake  by 
way  of  the  river,  that  complaints  began  to  be  made  of  the 
offensiveness  of  the  water  supplied  by  the  city  pumping 
station.  In  1860  there  were  over  100,000  people  living  in 
Chicago,  and  probably  about  2,000  head  of  cattle,  hogs 
and  sheep  were  killed  per  day. 

3.— ATTEMPTS  TO  SECURE  UNPOLLUTED  LAKE 

WATER. 

During  1860  five  plans  were  considered  for  obtain- 
ing water  of  the  desired  degree  of  purity:  (i)  By  ex- 
tending the  intake  one  mile  into  the  lake;  (2)  By  building 
a  tunnel  one  mile  under  the  lake;  (3)  By  locating  the 
pumping  works  at  Winnetka  to  the  north  of  the  city;  (4) 
By  constructing  filter  beds;  (5)  By  erecting  a  subsiding 
reservoir. 

The  policy  of  attempting  to  avoid  the  pollution  by 
taking  the  water  farther  from  the  source  of  the  polluting 


52  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

matter,  on  the  theory  that  the  dangerous  materials  would 
remain  near  shore,  began  at  this  time,  1862,  and  continued 
until  the  intakes  could  not  well  be  located  farther  out  in 
the  lake.  The  desirable  depth  of  50  feet  for  water  intakes 
cannot  be  obtained  here  at  a  distance  less  than  from  10 
to  15  miles  from  shore  and  to  build  tunnels  that  far  into 
the  lake  is  considered  impracticable  under  the  existing 
conditions. 

In  all,  six  intake  cribs  have  been  constructed,  as  fol- 
lows: The  Lake  View  Crib,  which  is  soon  to  be  aban- 
doned, is  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  city  and  takes 
its  water  at  a  depth  of  21  feet  below  the  lake  surface,  at 
a  distance  of  two  miles  from  shore;  the  Carter  H.  Har- 
rison crib,  draws  its  supply  25  feet  below  the  surface, 
three  miles  from  shore;  the  Two  Mile  Crib  has  intakes 
28  feet,  1 8  feet  and  6  feet  beneath  the  surface,  two  miles 
from  shore;  the  Four  Mile  Crib  takes  its  water  30  feet 
below  the  surface  at  a  point  about  four  miles  from  shore, 
and  opposite  the  most  densely  populated  portion  of  the 
city;  the  Sixty-eighth  Street  and  Edward  F.  Dunne  Cribs 
are  two  miles  off  shore,  opposite  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  city  and  take  in  their  water  28  feet  and  23  feet  be- 
low the  surface,  respectively.  From  these  cribs,  tunnels 
extend  under  Lake  Michigan  to  points  on  land,  more  or 
less  removed  from  the  shore,  where  pumping  stations  are 
located  to  pump  the  water  through  the  distribution  sys- 
tem. The  Lake  View  Crib  is  to  be  abandoned.  The  cost 
of  the  water  works,  including  the  intakes,  pumps  and  dis- 
tribution system  has  been  over  $59,942,000. 

More  than  half  of  the  total  consumption  is  taken  from 
the  Two  Mile  Crib  and  the  Carter  H.  Harrison  Crib,  ex- 
tending into  the  lake  from  a  point  on  shore  within  one 
mile  of  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River.  The  Four  Mile 
Crib  starts  from  a  point  a  little  more  than  one  mile  south 
of  the  river. 

The  water  is  pumped  by  means  of  twelve  principal 
pumping  stations,  which  are  more  or  less  connected  with 
one  another,  directly  into  the  mains  which  supply  the 
consumers.  The  total  pumpage  in  the  year  1913  was  209,- 


WATER   SUPPLY  53 

421  million  gallons,  of  which  the  actual  consumption  in 
Chicago  was  188,902  million  gallons.  The  average  daily 
consumption  was  518  million  and  the  maximum  daily  con- 
sumption was  608  million  gallons.  The  per  head  con- 
sumption was  218  gallons  per  day.  At  the  end  of  1913, 
22.5  per  cent,  of  the  consumption  was  metered. 

Most  of  the  water  is  delivered  to  the  consumers  with- 
out treatment.  At  the  Lake  View  Crib,  which  supplies  a 
part  of  the  North  Side,  a  permanent  chlorination  plant  has 
been  constructed  and  temporary  structures  for  chlorinat- 
ing the  water  of  the  Sixty-eighth  Street  and  Edward  F. 
Dunne  Cribs  were  put  in  service  in  May,  1912. 

4.— THE  TWO-FOLD   REQUIREMENTS  OF  PURITY. 

The  water  supply  problem  consists  in  securing  such 
a  quality  of  water  as  will  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  city  so 
far  as  health  is  concerned  and  satisfy  reasonable  aesthetic 
demands.  Neither  of  these  two  can  be  neglected.  The 
water  must  be  wholesome  and  it  must  look  so.  It  is  not 
enough  that  it  shall  not  produce  any  measureable  effect 
upon  the  public  health.  If  Chicago  is  not  to  take  its  place 
behind  other  cities  of  its  class,  if  it  is  not  to  subject  itself 
to  the  criticism  of  many  of  its  own  citizens  and  a  very 
large  part  of  the  traveling  public,  the  water  must  be 
bright  and  sparkling.  Turbidity,  such  as  occurs  at  times 
of  storm,  arouses  distrust. 

That  the  turbidity  is  explained  on  the  ground  of  ad- 
mixture with  lake  sediment  stirred  up  by  the  waves  in 
no  wise  reassures  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  windy 
weather  of  Chicago  and  have  seen  the  clouds  of  dirt  and 
smoke  which  are  blown  from  the  city  out  over  the  water. 
The  town  is  literally  swept  and  cleaned  by  these  breezes, 
and  great  quantities  of  refuse,  not  always  finely  com- 
minuted, accumulate  on  the  bottom,  far  out  into  the  lake,. 
The  authors  of  this  report  have  seen  the  nets  of  fisher- 
men so  filled  with  leaves  and  grass,  when  set  at  points 
ten  miles  from  shore,  that  it  has  taken  hours  to  clean 
them.  It  would  appear  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  tur- 
bidity which  at  times  makes  the  water  supply  unsuitable 


54  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

for  drinking  purposes,  and  much  less  inviting  for  bathing 
than  it  should  be,  is  due  to  the  dust  and  dirt  of  Chicago. 
One  element  of  the  water  problem,  then,  is  the  secur- 
ing of  a  water  from  which  the  turbid  appearance  is  elim- 
inated. 

5.— THE  EXISTING  DANGERS  OF  POLLUTION. 

On  the  score  of  danger  of  disease,  the  facts  indicate 
that  there  is  some  risk  of  pollution  from  the  Chicago 
River,  some  from  the  dumping  of  dredgings,  some  from 
passing  boats  and  perhaps  some  from  the  discharge  of 
sewage  which  is  contributed  by  communities  over  which 
Chicago  has,  and  can  have,  no  proper  control.  The  char- 
acter of  these  kinds  of  pollution  is  the  same.  None  of 
these  dangers  is  continuous  or  uniform;  all  are  occasional. 
They  depend  upon  conditions  which  come  into  action  at 
intervals  more  or  less  frequent,  depending  largely  upon 
accidents  of  weather  and  of  navigation. 

There  is  a  danger  in  the  occasional  pollutions  which 
is  likely  to  be  disregarded  by  persons  who  are  not  familiar 
with  the  history  of  epidemics.  It  is  too  often  assumed 
that  it  is  the  average  purity  of  a  water  supply  which 
should  be  taken  as  the  gauge  of  its  excellence,  whereas 
it  is  not  so  much  this  mathematical  figure  as  the  data 
which  compose  it  that  should  be  taken  into  account.  It 
is  necessary  to  know  the  worst  conditions  which  are  likely 
to  occur  and  how  often  they  may  be  expected.  Comment- 
ing on  this  aspect  of  the  case,  the  sanitary  experts  of  the 
International.  Joint  Commission  well  say:* 

"It  is  difficult  for  some  officials  to  understand,  without  a 
severe  lesson,  that  it  is  not  sufficient  to  have  a  water  supply 
that  is  safe  for  360  or  361  days  in  the  year,  and  to  these  offi- 
cials it  seems  scarcely  justifiable  to  require  expensive  purifi- 
cation for  the  sake  of  the  four  or  five  days  in  the  year  which, 
due  to  weather  conditions,  pollution  may  take  place.  Such  a 
supply,  with  a  favorably  placed  intake,  may  escape  pollution 
for  more  than  a  year.  There  was  no  evidence  of  serious  pollu- 
tion of  the  water  supply  of  the  city  of  Erie  from  1909  to  De- 

*Progress  Report  of  the  International  Joint  Commission  on  the  Pollution 
of  Boundary  Waters,  January  16,  1914,  p.  22. 


WATER   SUPPLY  55 

cember,  1910,  yet  the  appalling  disaster  of  January  and  Febru- 
ary, 1911,  showed  that  pollution  could  take  place  under  certain 
weather  conditions.  Many  similar  examples  might  be  cited." 

6.— POLLUTION    FROM   THE    CHICAGO    RIVER. 

It  is  scarcely  supposable  that  the  water  of  the  Chi- 
cago River  never  discharges  into  the  lake.  In  view  of  the 
fluctuations  of  the  lake  level  which  occur  and  particularly 
of  heavy  rainfalls  and  sudden  strong  winds  from  the  west, 
it  would  appear  inevitable  that  some  of  the  water  of  the 
main  stream  should  be  carried  out  into  the  lake  and  not 
pass  back  through  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal.  In  con- 
nection with  this  matter,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the 
level  of  the  water  in  the  river  can  be  intentionally  changed 
only  by  raising  or  lowering  the  dam  at  the  regulating 
works  at  Lockport  and  that  it  takes  an  appreciable  time 
for  the  effect  of  this  movement  to  be  felt  at  the  lake  end 
of  the  Chicago  River.  Observations  are  lacking,  so  far 
as  the  authors  of  this  report  are  aware,  to  determine 
whether  the  water  ever  flows  toward  the  lake,  and,  if  so, 
to  what  extent  and  for  how  much  of  the  time. 

7.— POLLUTION  FROM  BOATS  AND  DREDGINGS. 

The  possible  pollution  from  boats  would  seem  within 
the  range  of  the  authorities  to  control  by  suitable  ordi- 
nances, vigilant  inspections  and  the  exclusion  of  ship- 
ping from  the  water  areas  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  in- 
take cribs,  and  yet  it  is  by  no  means  certain  how  reliable 
such  protection  can  be  made.  The  danger  from  this  kind 
of  pollution  may  be  very  great. 

Dredged  material  has  in  former  years  been  dumped 
.in  various  areas  in  Lake  Michigan,  designated  and  author- 
ized by  the  Secretary  of  War;  but,  under  an  Act  of  Con- 
gress, approved  June  23,  1910,  dumping  is  forbidden  in 
the  lake  nearer  than  eight  miles  from  the  shore,  unless 
placed  behind  bulkheads  where  the  material  cannot  run 
into  the  lake.  Although  the  eight-mile  limit  is  none  too 
great,  if  this  requirement  was  complied  with,  it  is  probable 
that  there  would  be  little  cause  for  complaint.  It  is  hard 


5£  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

to  believe  that  the  material  dredged  from  "Bubbly  Creek" 
and  other  excessively  polluted  places,  could  fail  to  pro- 
duce evil  consequences  if  discharged  within  reach  of  the 
intakes. 

According  to  the  United  States  Census  reports,  over 
14,000,000  persons  take  passage  on  lake  vessels  each  year 
and  the  investigations  of  the  International  Joint  Commis- 
sion show  that  practically  all  discharge  their  excrement 
to  the  water  through  which  they  pass.  Through  the  ef- 
forts of  Health  Commissioner  Young  of  Chicago  the 
worst  of  this  pollution,  that  from  passenger  and  excur- 
sion steamers,  has  been  practically  eliminated  at  Chicago, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  wholly  stop  it.  Six  thousand  ves- 
sels enter  and  leave  Chicago  yearly. 

Another  evil  practice  attributed  to  lake  vessels  is  the 
taking  of  water  ballast  in  polluted  harbors  and  its  subse- 
quent discharge,  frequently  within  a  short  distance  of 
some  water  works  intake.  The  emptying  of  a  shipload 
of  water,  as  unfit  to  drink  as  that  of  the  Chicago  River, 
at  one  of  the  intake  cribs  might  lead  to  results  of  the  most 
serious  character.  The  infectious  material  which  was  dis- 
charged from  a  boat  might  be  relatively  fresh  and  virulent 
and  enter  the  water  supply  with  little  opportunity  for 
destruction  and  dilution. 

8.— POLLUTION  BY  OTHER  MUNICIPALITIES. 

The  possibility  that  the  Chicago  water  supplies  may 
become  polluted  by  the  sewage  of  other  municipalities 
is  a  danger  which  is  not  only  real,  but  one  which  is  under- 
stood to  exist  at  the  present  time.  The  southernmost 
crib  is  at  times  affected  by  the  drainage  of  the  large  and 
increasing  settlements  to  the  south  in  the  States  of  Illi- 
nois and  Indiana.  Thus  far  it  has  been  impossible  wholly 
to  avoid  this  danger,  and  although  extensive  works  are 
projected  by  the  Sanitary  District  to  divert  the  sewage  of 
the  Calumet  to  the  Illinois  River,  as  has  been  done  with 
the  sewage  of  Chicago,  it  is  by  no  means  clear  that  works 
of  their  kind  can  give  this  intake  the  protection  which 
the  circumstances  require.  The  Chicago  drainage  area 


WATER    SUPPLY  57 

is  much  smaller  than  that  of  the  Calumet,  and  it  was  much 
easier  to  divert  the  flow  of  the  Chicago  River  to  the  Illi- 
nois than  it  would  be  to  reverse  the  larger  body  of  water 
in  the  Calumet.  The  problems  presented  by  the  two 
watersheds  are  similar,  but  the  scale  is  so  different  that 
the  solution  which  has  been  found  for  the  smaller  cannot 
be  applied  to  the  other. 

9.— THE  LAKE  MICHIGAN  WATER   COMMISSION'S 

FINDINGS. 

In  1908  Chicago  undertook  to  bring  about  concerted 
action  among  the  cities  and  states  along  the  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  with  the  object  of  investigating  the  conditions 
of  water  supply  and  sewage  disposal  in  that  region. 

An  association  was  formed,  consisting  of  official  del- 
egates from  the  various  governmental  interests  concerned. 
The  name  of  this  body  was  the  Lake  Michigan  Water 
Commission.  There  were  representatives  of  the  United 
States  Public  Health  Service,  the  United  States  Army, 
the  States  of  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Michigan 
and  of  the  most  important  cities  on  the  lake  shore.  Re- 
ports were  printed  in  1909  and  1911.*  The  Commission 
is  still  in  existence,  but  it  has  been  inactive  for  some  years. 

The  Lake  Michigan  Water  Commission  found  that 
in  Wisconsin  there  were  twenty-six  cities  and  towns,  with 
an  aggregate  population  of  500,000,  which  were  located 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake  or  on  the  territory  immediately 
tributary  to  it.  In  that  part  of  Illinois  which  drains  into 
Lake  Michigan  there  were,  beside  Chicago,  a  number  of 
cities  and  towns  which  discharged  to  the  lake  a  total  of 
7,000,000  gallons  of  sewage  per  day.  In  the  State  of  Mich- 
igan eighteen  municipalities  discharged  into  the  lake  the 
sewage  of  an  aggregate  population  of  200,000.  From  the 
State  of  Indiana  there  was  emptied  into  the  lake  the  sew- 
age of  about  100,000. 

A  large  and  rapidly  growing  population  discharged 
its  sewage  into  the  Calumet  River,  and  this  stream,  which 

*First  Report  of  the  Lake  Michigan  Water  Commission,  Urbana,  111.,  1909. 


58  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

flows  into  Lake  Michigan  immediately  south  of  Chicago, 
was  described  as  "unspeakably  vile  and  putrescent." 
Added  to  the  sewage  was  a  large  amount  of  waste  from 
glucose  factories,  steel  mills,  oil  refineries  and  other  works. 
The  sewage  of  that  part  of  Chicago  which  lies  south  of 
Eighty-seventh  Street  emptied  into  the  lake  through  the 
Calumet. 

The  commission  found  evidence  of  the  pollution  of 
the  lake  water  in  analysis  and  in  the  vital  statistics  of  the 
municipalities  which  took  their  drinking  water  from  the 
lake.  Excessively  high  typhoid  rates  existed  in  many  of 
these  places  and  the  water  of  those  which  took  their  sup- 
plies from  the  lake  were  generally  contaminated. 

Study  showed  that  there  were  no  regular  currents  in 
Lake  Michigan;  the  water  might  flow  in  any  direction, 
according  to  the  wind,  and  might  attain  a  velocity  of 
three  miles  per  hour,  or  more.  The  delegate  who  stated 
these  facts  was  Major  W.  V.  Judson,  Corps  of  Engineers, 
United  States  Army,  and  his  paper  is  published  in  the 
First  Report,  pp.  65-66. 

The  report  says: 

"We  are  thus  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  all  important 
agency  in  producing  currents  is  the  wind. 

In  general,  although  there  are  many  exceptions  to  the 
rule,  it  may  be  said  that  all  winds  produce  surface  currents, 
and  these  currents  move  with  the  wind.  It  is  believed  that  the 
travel  of  the  surface  currents  is  something  like  5  per  cent  of  the 
wind  travel.  The  depth  of  the  surface  current  is  something 
like  30  to  40  feet.  As  great  velocities  as  1.6  miles  per  hour 
have  been  accurately  measured,  and  it  is  probable  that  these 
currents  travel  as  rapidly  as  3  miles  per  hour  during  storms. 

Surface  currents  cause  counter  currents  in  deep  water  which 
are  not  necessarily  exactly  opposite  in  direction  to  the  surface 
currents." 

As  a  result  of  its  investigations,  the  commission  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  localities  even  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  from  the  point  of  entrance  of  large  quantities  of 
sewage  were  "not  safe  places  from  which  to  derive  water 
for  domestic  use." 

In  the  autumn  of  1909  an  investigation  was  made 


WATER   SUPPLY  59 

of  the  lake  water  to  the  north  of  Chicago.  The  investi- 
gators were  Langdon  Pearse,  of  the  Sanitary  District  of 
Chicago,  F.  O.  Tonner  and  Dr.  Edward  Bartow,  Director 
of  the  State  Water  Survey  of  Illinois.  Samples  of  the 
lake  water  from  Chicago  to  Waukegan,  a  distance  along 
the  shore  of  23  miles,  were  analyzed  chemically  and  bac- 
terially,  distances  out  into  the  lake  up  to  five  miles  being 
included. 

Over  a  dozen  villages  and  towns  lie  along  the  shore 
in  this  territory.  The  chemical  results  confirmed  the  bac- 
terial data  and  both  were  in  general  agreement  with  what 
might  be  inferred  from  an  inspection  of  the  conditions  of 
drainage. 

The  authors  concluded  that  the  lake  was  not  a  safe 
source  of  drinking  water  supply  in  the  region  covered 
by  their  study.  The  examinations  showed  that  the  water 
was  decidedly  polluted,  and  with  winds  from  certain  quar- 
ters, fecal  pollution  might  reach  out  three  or  four  miles. 

The  condition  of  that  part  of  the  lake  which  borders 
Indiana  and  adjoins  Illinois  was  investigated  by  H.  E. 
Barnard,  Chemist  of  the  State  Laboratory  of  Hygiene, 
and  J.  H.  Brewster,  Water  Chemist. 

The  Indiana  cities  extend  around  the  whole  southern 
end  of  the  lake  and  run  from  Michigan  City  to  Chicago,  a 
distance  of  about  35  miles.  The  chief  sources  of  pollu- 
tion were  the  Calumet  River,  which  was  described  as  a 
trunk  sewer,  the  discharge  of  local  sewers  into  the  lake, 
including  the  effluents  from  numerous  manufactories, 
shore  and  bottom  wash  due  to  winds  and  currents,  the 
dumping  of  dredged  material,  and  accidental  pollution  by 
shipping. 

The  chemical  and  bacteriological  data  collected  con- 
vinced the  investigators  that  the  water  around  the  south- 
ern end  of  the  lake  was  grossly  polluted,  and  unfit  for 
use  as  a  source  of  water  supply  for  drinking  and  domestic 
purposes.  The  discharge  of  the  Calumet  River  materially 
affected  the  potability  of  the  water  of  Lake  Michigan 
for  a  distance  from  its  mouth  of  over  ten  miles  in  every 
direction,  depending  on  the  wind  and  the  currents  in  the 


60  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

lake..  The  water  supply  of  Chicago  felt  the  effect  of  the 
pollution.  The  distance  from  the  river  to  the  intake  of 
the  Sixty-eighth  Street  Crib,  measuring  around  the  end 
of  the  Government  breakwater,  was  about  four  and  one- 
half  miles. 

10.— THE  LAKE  WATER  AT  CHICAGO. 

The  lake  was  examined  along  nearly  the  whole  water 
front  of  Chicago,  in  the  late  summer  of  1908,  by  Dr.  J.  F. 
Biehm,  Director  of  Laboratories,  Chicago  Department  of 
Health,  and  the  results  will  be  found  in  the  First  Report 
of  the  Lake  Michigan  Water  Commission,  p.  109. 

Within  one  mile  of  shore  there  was  no  point  where 
B.  coli  was  not  found,  in  samples  of  1  c.  c.  The  area  of 
occasional  pollution  extended  out  about  three  miles.  The 
Carter  H.  Harrison  and  Two  Mile  Cribs  were  constantly 
surrounded  by  a  zone  in  which  B.  coli  were  found  in  over 
60  per  cent,  of  the  samples. 

The  purest  water  was  found  at  points  twelve  to  fif- 
teen miles  out.  These  contained  10  to  37  bacteria  per 
c.  c.  cultivated  in  agar  and  counted  after  96  hours.  The 
most  polluted  samples  at  Chicago  contained  60,000  bac- 
teria and  were  collected  south  of  the  Chicago  River  and 
within  the  harbor  limits.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago 
River  the  count  was  280  to  3,000.  The  numbers  gradu- 
ally rose  as  the  river  was  ascended,  until  just  below  the 
junction  of  the  North  and  South  Branches  the  number 
was  8,000,000. 

The  quality  of  Chicago's  water  supplies  is  watched 
by  the  Chicago  Department  of  Health,  and  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  Commissioner,  Dr.  G.  B.  Young,  the  de- 
tailed records  of  the  analyses  for  1914,  and  summaries  of 
the  analyses  for  1913,  have  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Board  of  Experts.  In  the  year  1914  the  number  of 
samples  analyzed  was  1900.  The  samples  were  collected 
throughout  the  year  so  as  to  show  the  condition  of  the 
water  taken  in  all  the  cities  and  principal  pumping  sta- 
tions. The  examinations  included  determinations  of  the 
numbers  of  bacteria  which  develop  at  20  degrees  C.  in 


WATER    SUPPLY  61 

gelatin  and  in  agar,  and  at  37  degrees  in  agar.  To  those 
who  are  not  familiar  with  water  analysis,  it  may  be  ex- 
plained that  the  20  degrees  count  is  chiefly  useful  in  indi- 
cating the  relative  amount  of  organic  matter  present  and 
the  number  developed  at  37  degrees  (body  temperature) 
is  nearly  specific  for  intestinal  organisms.  B.  coli,  which 
are  fecal  bacteria,  are  determined  in  i  c.  c.,  and  10  c.  c. 

The  turbidity  is  usually  determined  twice  each  month. 
Turbidities  of  about  10  in  the  scale  recommended  by  the 
Committee  on  Standard  Methods  of  Water  Analysis  of 
the  American  Public  Health  Association  occur  frequently, 
and  of  60  to  70  at  long  intervals.  The  water  from  the 
three  cribs  nearest  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River  had  a 
turbidity  of  10  or  more  in  90  out  of  142  tests.  Nearly  all 
the  months  were  represented. 

In  interpreting  the  results  of  the  bacterial  analyses, 
the  Board  of  Experts  has  followed  the  criteria  employed 
by  the  experts  of  the  International  Joint  Commission* 
which  examined  over  19,000  samples  of  water  from  the 
Great  Lakes,  and  whose  experience  entitles  them  to  be 
regarded  as  authorities  in  connection  with  this  subject. 
The  investigations  showed  "that  the  colon  bacillus  is 
practically  never  normally  present  in  the  unpolluted 
waters  of  the  lakes  and  that  the  normal  total  bacterial 
count  in  nutrient  agar  (  +  10)  of  the  Great  Lakes  waters 
is  below  10  per  c.  c."  According  to  the  Joint  Commis- 
sion's experts,  the  line  which  separates  a  satisfactory  de- 
gree of  purity  from  a  state  of  "considerable  pollution," 
requiring  careful  purification,  is  where  the  B.  coli  num- 
ber from  10  to  20  per  100  c.c. ;  that  is,  are  sufficiently  nu- 
merous to  appear  in  10  c.  c.  of  the  water.  Under  such 
circumstances,  the  number  of  bacteria  which  develop  in 
agar  (+10)  at  37  degrees  C.  is  usually  25  to  50.  Twice 
this  is  "serious  pollution"  and  should  be  avoided,  if  pos- 
sible, even  when  the  water  is  to  be  purified.  Still  more  is 
gross  pollution.  Purification  is  not  enough  for  this  water; 

*Progress  Report  of  the  International  Joint  Commission  on  The  Pollu- 
tion of  Boundary  Waters,  including  the  Report  of  the  Sanitary  Experts,  dated 
January  16,  1914,  p.  20. 


62  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

the  "sources  of  pollution  should  be  eliminated  or  nulli- 
fied/' Water  which  is  so  impure  as  to  contain  B.  coli  in 
i  c.  c.,  which  is  1,000  per  100  c.  c.,  is  dangerous  in  the 
extreme. 

In  using  these  criteria,  it  should  be  explained  that  the 
lines  separating  the  different  classes  of  water  are  not  posi- 
tive and  inflexible,  and  that  the  standard  is  applied  here 
because  it  appears  to  be  a  reasonable  and  suitable  one 
under  the  circumstances.  Judged  by  this  standard,  Chi- 
cago's water  supplies  are  at  times  seriously  polluted  and 
unsafe  for  drinking  purposes.  The  pollution  is  occasional, 
but  unquestionable,  and,  at  times,  intense. 

For  a  large  part  of  the  time  the  supply  is  of  excep- 
tional purity  for  a  surface  water,  the  number  of  bacteria 
which  can  be  cultivated  at  20  degrees  C.  being  well  below 
100,  the  37  degrees  count  below  5  and  no  coli  being  found 
in  samples  as  large  as  10  c.  c.  At  other  times,  the  water 
is  polluted  according  to  every  test  that  can  be  applied  to 
it.  Criteria  which  are  less  exacting  than  that  which  the 
experts  of  the  Joint  Commission  have  found  to  be  suitable 
for  the  water  of  the  Great  Lakes  would  condemn  it.  The 
20  degrees  counts  and  37  degrees  counts  run  into  the  hun- 
dreds and  even  thousands,  and  B.  coli  are  found  in  10  c.  c., 
i  c.  c.,  and,  on  rare  occasions,  .1  c.  c.  of  the  water. 

The  onset  of  the  dangerous  periods  is  sudden  and 
they  disappear  gradually.  They  are  of  all  degrees  of 
severity.  The  water  of  some  intakes  is  much  worse  than 
the  water  of  others.  Under  the  circumstances,  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  resist  the  temptation  to  strike  averages  in  the 
hope  of  arriving  at  an  opinion  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
water  most  of  the  time.  This  proceeding  is,  however,  cer- 
tain to  lead  to  a  misconception  of  the  facts. 

The  records  for  1914  show  that  the  Lake  View  Crib, 
the  Two  Mile  Crib  and  the  Sixty-eighth  Street  Crib  sup- 
ply the  worst  water.  In  1914  there  were  214  samples 
taken  of  the  water  at  the  Lake  View  Crib,  representing 
86  days.  In  these  samples  B.  coli  were  found  44  times  in 
10  c.  c.,  and  9  times  in  i  c.  c.  There  were  12  times  when 
the  bacterial  count  exceeded  25  per  c.  c.,  when  developed 


WATER    SUPPLY  63 

in  agar  at  37  degrees  C.  and  6  times  when  this  count  ex- 
ceeded 50.  Among  the  four  pumping  stations  handling 
this  supply  somewhat  better  water  was  found  at  the  Nor- 
wood Park  and  Jefferson  Park  pumps  and  worse  at  the 
Lake  View  works. 

The  Two  Mile  Crib  water  was  examined  252  times. 
B.  coli  was  found  67  times  in  10  c.  c.  samples  and  15  times 
in  samples  of  i  c.  c.  The  37  degree  counts  exceeded  25 
on  25  occasions,  and  50  a  dozen  times.  The  water  exam- 
ined at  the  Twenty-second  Street  Pumping  Station  was  a 
little  better,  but  that  at  the  Chicago  Avenue  Station  was 
much  the  worst  water  recorded  for  any  crib  or  station  in 
the  whole  year.  Of  271  samples,  B.  coli  were  found  126 
times  in  10  c.  c.  and  28  times  in  i  c.  c.  In  nearly  half  of 
these  cases  the  water  was  not  fit  to  drink,  according  to 
the  International  Joint  Commission's  standard. 

The  water  from  the  Sixty-eighth  Street  Crib  was 
next  to  the  worst.  Out  of  185  samples  representing  70 
days,  34  contained  B.  coli  in  10  c.c.  and  9  in  i  c.c.  There 
were  25  or  more  bacteria  developed  per  c.c.  in  37  deg. 
counts  on  22  occasions,  and  50  or  more  on  u  occasions. 
The  results  for  the  Sixty-eight  Street  Pumping  Station, 
which  is  the  only  one  connected  with  this  supply,  were  in 
agreement  with  the  foregoing  results. 

11.— NECESSITY  FOR  PURIFYING  THE  WATER. 

Disinfection  has  been  used  at  Chicago  to  some  extent, 
as  a  means  of  meeting  the  occasional  pollution  of  a  dan- 
gerous character.  This  idea  has  simplicity  and  economy 
to  recommend  it.  Sterilization  is  not,  however,  capable  of 
improving  the  appearance  of  the  water  and  removing  the 
visible  effects  of  the  shore  pollution.  There  is  the  further 
objection  to  this  treatment  that  it  is  likely  to  be  regarded 
only  as  an  emergency  measure  and  may  be  out  of  oper- 
ation when  most  needed.  At  best,  chemical  disinfection  is 
an  expedient  which  should  be  resorted  to  only  in  those 
cases  where  better  and  more  continuously  efficient  results 
cannot  be  secured. 

If  the  problem  was  simply  one  of  bacterial  purity,  the 


64  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

proper  remedy  would  doubtless  be  disinfection,  because  of 
its  economy.  But  it  is  more  than  that.  At  times  of  storm, 
the  water  becomes  decidedly  turbid.  According  to  the 
analyses  of  the  Chicago  Department  of  Health,  the  maxi- 
mum degree  of  turbidity,  or  cloudiness,  at  different  times 
during  the  course  of  the  year,  is  usually  between  60  and 
70.  This  is  twice  the  turbidity  which  generally  causes  re- 
mark and  complaint  among  persons  who  use  water  for 
domestic  purposes,  and  ten  times  that  which  is  considered 
permissible  for  the  best  water  supplies. 

The  turbidity  varies  greatly,  being  contingent  on 
whether  or  not  the  violent  storms  which  occur  displace 
much  material  from  the  shores.  In  the  Fall  of  1913,  a 
storm  of  unusual  severity  sent  the  turbidity  up  to  300, 
near  which  point  it  remained  ten  days  at  least.  Some  idea 
of  this  degree  of  muddiness  can  be  had  from  the  fact  that 
an  ordinary  pin  could  not  be  seen  beneath  two  inches  of 
this  water  in  strong  daylight. 

There  are,  in  general,  two  ways  of  clarifying  turbid 
waters :  by  sedimentation  in  large  basins  and  by  filtration. 
Of  these,  filtration  is  alone  suitable  for  Chicago,  by  reason 
of  the  lack  of  space  which  is  required  for  basins  and  the 
high  degree  of  purification  demanded.  Filtration  is  en- 
tirely feasible  and  that  type  of  filter  in  which  a  coagulant 
is  used  and  the  rate  of  purification  is  very  rapid,  is  likely 
to  prove  the  most  suitable.  Good  mechanical  filters,  if 
connected  with  the  present  pumping  stations,  would  be 
capable  of  removing  the  turbidity  and  affording,  with 
proper  care  of  the  lake,  all  the  protection  which  the  water 
supply  will  require. 

There  is  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  authors  of  this 
report  that  the  City  of  Chicago  must  sooner  or  later  adopt 
filtration  for  its  entire  public  water  supply.  It  can  be  in- 
stalled upon  a  reasonably  small  scale,  and  where  most 
needed,  and  subsequently  extended  as  the  requirements 
demand.  The  process  is  neither  experimental  nor  novel. 
It  is  based  upon  principles  which  have  been  carefully 
studied  and  practiced  for  many  years.  From  the  observa- 
tions and  information  gathered  by  the  authors  of  this  re- 


WATER    SUPPLY  65 

port  while  in  Chicago,  it  appears  feasible  to  find  suitable 
locations  for  the  works  at  various  points  along  the  Lake 
Shore  front.  The  works  would  in  no  sense  destroy  the 
attractiveness  of  the  locality. 

12.— QUANTITY  OF  WATER  AVAILABLE  AND  REQUIRED 

The  quantity  of  water  available  for  domestic  con- 
sumption is  unlimited,  for  no  matter  how  small  may  be 
the  supply  of  diluting  water  for  the  Drainage  Canal  al- 
lowed by  the  United  States  Government,  it  is  inconceiv- 
able that  any  restriction  will  be  placed  upon  the  require- 
ments for  domestic  consumption. 

It  is  perhaps  largely  due  to  the  inexhaustible  supply 
of  lake  water  at  hand,  and  which  is  to  be  had  merely  for 
the  pumping,  that  Chicago's  consumption  is  so  great.  The 
rate  for  1913  of  218  gallons  per  head  per  day  is  excessive 
even  for  American  cities,  whose  generous  use  of  water 
appears  to  European  engineers  to  be  lavish  and  inexplic- 
aJ3le  Many  cities  in  Europe  get  along  tolerably  well  with 
one-tenth  of  this  allowance. 

In  an  interesting  paper  read  May  19,  1913,  before  The 
Western  Society  of  Engineers,  John  Ericson,  City  Engi- 
neer of  Chicago,  described  the  water  works  and  called 
special  attention  to  the  large  per  capita  consumption.*  In 
the  course  of  his  remarks  Mr.  Ericson  said: 

"The  total  quantity  of  the  pumpage  during  last  year 
would  fill  a  lake  averaging  ten  miles  in  length  and  four  miles 
in  width  to  an  average  depth  of  nearly  30  feet.  It  is  equival- 
ent to  203  gallons,  or  a  barrel  3  feet  in  diameter  and  4  feet  high 
full  of  water,  for  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  city  every 
day  in  the  year,  if  equally  distributed.  Of  course,  in  these 
figures  is  included  all  the  water  used  by  the  stock  yards,  manu- 
facturing, and  other  great  water-consuming  establishments. 
And  yet  we  hear  a  constant  cry  for  more  water — more  water. 
To  satisfy  this  enormous  thirst  of  our  citizens,  the  city  admin- 
istrations, which  are  changed  every  two  or  four  years,  undei 
prevailing  conditions,  must  go  on  adding  one  system  aftc' 
another,  at  the  cost  of  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars." 


*Journal   Western    Society  of   Engineers,   Oct.,   1913,  pp.  763-796. 


66  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

Careful  investigation  by  the  Water  Survey  Division 
of  the  Bureau  of  Engineering  showed  that  the  water 
actually  delivered  into  the  mains  is  distributed  about  as 
follows : 

(1)  40  gallons  per  day  per  capita  go  to  frontage  consumers. 

(2)  47  gallons  per  day  per  capita  go  to  meter  consumers. 

(3)  10  gallons  per  day  per  capita  go  to  free  service. 

(4)  5  gallons  per  day  per  capita  slip  through  meters  unreg- 

istered. 

(5)  40  gallons   per   day   per    capita    are   lost   through    leaky 

plumbing  fixtures. 

(6)  61  gallons   per   day   per   capita   are   lost   through   wilful 

wastage   and    underground    leakage    in    mains    and 
service  pipes,  etc. 

A  further  analysis  of  what  becomes  of  the  water  sup- 
ply and  a  discussion  of  the  utility  of  meters  in  restricting 
the  waste,  together  with  a  large  amount  of  other  valuable 
information  relating  to  the  Chicago  water  works,  are  con- 
tained in  a  report  by  Mr.  Ericson,  which  was  transmitted 
to  the  Mayor  and  Council  on  November  20,  1911,  by  the 
Commissioner  of  Public  Works.*  The  purpose  of  the  re- 
port was  to  present  a  statement  of  the  condition  and  needs 
of  Chicago's  water  supply  system  with  recommendations 
for  immediate  improvements,  and  an  orderly  plan  of  de- 
velopment for  a  term  of  years. 

In  other  cities,  the  allowance  of  water  per  head  varies 
greatly  according  to  their  industrial  or  residence  char- 
acter and  the  cost  of  the  water.  Railroads  and  manufac- 
turing establishments  and  high  class  hotels  and  residence 
apartments  are  large  consumers.  The  quantity  ranges  in 
most  American  cities  from  20  gallons  to  over  three  times 
this  amount  for  purely  domestic  purposes. 

According  to  the  report  of  a  Committee  of  the  New 
England  Water  Works  Association,  the  total  consump- 
tion of  water  in  67  Massachusetts  cities  and  towns  in  1910 
averaged  63  gallons  per  head  per  day.f  The  consumption 
of  water  per  head  per  day  in  some  of  the  largest  American 

*Journal  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago, 
Nov.  20,  1911,  pp.  1650-1670. 

tJournal  of  the  New  England  Water  Works  Association,  March,  1913. 


WATER    SUPPLY  67 

cities  in  1913  was  as  follows :    New  York,  96  gallons ;  Phil- 
adelphia, 178  gallons;  Boston,  108  gallons;  St.  Louis,  117  / 
gallons;  Cincinnati,  126  gallons;  Cleveland,  107  gallons ;  t~ 
Milwaukee,  112  gallons. 

The  tendency  in  most  cities  is  for  the  rate  of  con- 
sumption to  increase.  An  increase  of  five  gallons  per  head 
per  day  every  ten  years  was  considered  reasonable  to  ex- 
pect by  the  Milwaukee  Sewage  Disposal  Commission  in 
1910.  Chicago's  rate  increased  from  203  to  218  in  1913. 

Many  cities  have  sought  to  decrease  their  consump- 
tion by  the  introduction  of  meters  and  most  of  them  have 
been  signally  successful.  But  meters  do  not  of  them- 
selves check  waste:  it  is  the  intelligent  use  of  the  data 
which  they  supply  which  is  capable  of  accomplishing  the 
desired  results.  There  must  be  a  public  opinion  favorable 
to  a  saving  in  water  consumption  in  order  for  restrictive 
measures  to  be  effective. 

How  large  an  allowance  should  be  made  for  Chi- 
cago's consumption  of  water  in  the  future  depends  largely 
upon  the  attitude  which  the  public  will  hold  toward  the 
curtailment  of  unnecessary  waste  and  the  requiring  of 
consumers  to  pay  for  what  they  take.  Three  hundred 
gallons  per  head  per  day  seems  to  be  an  excessively  large 
figure,  and  yet  it  has  been  used  by  some  in  estimates  in- 
tended to  show  how  great  would  be  the  cost  of  treating 
Chicago's  sewage.  At  this  rate,  the  water  supply  iri  1940, 
assuming  the  estimates  of  population  by  the  Chief  Engi- 
neer of  the  Sanitary  District  to  be  correct,  would  be  1,230,- 
000,000  gallons  per  day. 


Part  IV 


SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

1.— THE  FIRST  ATTEMPTS  AT  SEWERAGE. 

The  earliest  attempts  at  drainage  were  based  upon 
principles  which  were  later  found  to  be  incorrect.  The 
ground  was  low  and  flat  and  the  inexperience  of  the  day 
suggested  that  the  streets  be  dug  down  and  an  attempt 
made  to  carry  off  the  surface  water  in  sluices.  Next,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  lay  pavements  and  sewers  upon  the 
natural  surface  of  the  ground  and  allow  the  sewage  to  run 
off  in  the  gutters. 

By  1850,  when  the  population  was  about  28,000,  many 
of  the  populous  localities  were  described  as  noisome  quag- 
mires, the  gutters  running  with  filth  or  clogged  up,  form- 
ing stagnant  pools  of  indescribable  liquid.  The  trouble 
was  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  streets  were 
planked,  so  that  some  of  the  drainage  collected  and  fer- 
mented beyond  the  reach  of  water,  broom  or  disinfectant. 
Cholera"  was  at  times  prevalent  and  it  was  believed  that 
want  of  proper  drainage  was  in  part  responsible  for  it. 
Between  1849  an<^  I&54  the  death  rate  was  48-50  per  1,000. 
The  stockyards  were  started  in  1848. 

By  act  of  Legislature,  in  1852,  a  board  of  sewerage 
commissioners  was  provided.  In  two  years,  this  body 
expended  $100,000  in  building  sewers  and  ditches  and 
otherwise  improving  the  low  land.  The  population  was 
growing  rapidly;  in  1853  it  was  60,000,  and  in  1855  80,000. 
By  1854  four  and  one-half  miles  of  sewers  had  been  put 
down,  at  a  depth  of  five  to  eight  feet  below  the  surface  of 
the  principal  streets  in  the  business  part  of  the  city,  empty- 
ing into  the  Chicago  River.  The  results  obtained  by  these 
early  efforts  were  regarded  as  measurably  satisfactory; 

68 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  69 

but  the  drainage  scheme  was  but  little  more  than  experi- 
mental and  the  sewers  of  a  temporary  character. 

2.— ORIGIN  OF  THE  PLANS  FOR  THE  PRESENT  SEWER- 
AGE SYSTEM. 

A  bill  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  on  February  4, 
1855,  creating  a  board  of  sewer  commissioners  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  city  council.  This  board  proceeded  to  se- 
lect the  most  competent  engineer  of  the  time  who  was 
available  for  the  position  of  chief  engineer:  E.  S.  Ches- 
brough,  for  five  years  City  Engineer  of  Boston.  A  year 
was  spent  in  making  plans  and  investigations.  In  order 
that  no  pains  should  be  spared  to  make  the  system  perfect, 
Mr.  Chesbrough  went  to  Europe  to  study  at  first  hand  the 
latest  and  best  developments  in  the  art.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  results  of  his  work,  however  they  may  fit  the  re- 
quirements of  the  present  day,  represented  the  best  which 
was  obtainable  sixty  years  ago. 

The  scope  of  the  work  to  be  done  by  the  sewer  com- 
missioners was  indicated  in  the  instructions  which  they 
received  from  the  Legislature.  A  systematic  plan  and 
policy  of  construction  was  provided  for.  The  Act  says: 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  commissioners,  before  enter- 
ing upon  the  construction  of  any  sewer,  to  fix  upon  a  plan  or 
system  of  sewerage  of  such  nature  that  all  subsequent  sewers 
may  be  executed  upon  that  plan." 

At  this  time  such  systematic  sewerage  was  unknown 
in  the  United  States  and  it  is  now  far  less  common  than 
it  should  be. 

3.— NATURAL   DIFFICULTIES   OVERCOME. 

The  ground  was  unfavorable  for  sewerage.  In  the 
vicinity  of  the  North  and  South  branches  of  the  Chicago 
River,  the  surface  was  only  three  or  four  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  lake,  and  to  the  westward,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  it  was  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  feet  above 
it.  To  a  considerable  extent  it  was  necessary  to  raise  the 
grade  of  the  streets  to  keep  the  sewers  underground. 

After  much  discussion,  it  was  decided  to  raise  the 


70  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

grade  of  the  city  to  a  height  of  ten  feet  above  the  lake  on 
the  streets  adjacent  to  the  river  and  so  permit  of  the  con- 
struction of  cellars  seven  or  eight  feet  deep  for  the  houses. 
A  higher  grade  was  recommended,  but  it  was  argued  that 
there  would  be  too  much  difficulty  in  finding  the  necessary 
earth.  For  some  years  after  construction,  some  of  the 
sewers  were  entirely  above  ground. 

According  to  the  Chesbrough  plan,  the  sewage  was 
to  be  delivered  mainly  into  the  river,  which,  the  chief  engi- 
neer thought,  would  deliver  it  well  out  into  the  lake. 
There  were  to  be  mains  three  to  six  feet  in  diameter  run- 
ning along  the  alternate  streets  to  the  river.  These  were 
to  receive  the  sewage  from  the  houses  on  the  streets 
through  which  they  passed,  and  from  sewers  two  feet 
in  diameter,  placed  in  the  streets  which  ran  at  right  angles 
to  the  mains.  The  sewers  were  built  on  the  combined 
plan:  that  is,  they  were  to  receive  both  house  and  storm 
water,  in  accordance  with  the  best  English  practice  of  the 
day. 

At  the  present  time,  there  are  19  sewers  discharging 
into  the  Chicago  River  between  the  lake  and  the  junction 
of  the  two  Branches;  36  into  the  North  Branch;  51  into 
the  South  Branch  from  the  junction  to  the  beginning  of 
the  Drainage  Canal  at  Bridgeport;  10  into  the  South 
Branch,  beyond  Bridgeport,  and  the  Ogden  Ditch;  16  into 
the  South  Fork;  4  into  the  east  arm  and  2  into  the  west 
arm  of  the  South  Fork;  3  into  the  Drainage  Channel  and 
13  from  Chicago  into  the  Calumet  River. 

The  sewers  of  Chicago  are  constructed  on  the  com- 
bined plan  and  were  intended  to  have  a  capacity  sufficient 
to  care  for  a  rainfall  of  an  inch  an  hour.  They  lie  close  to 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  Part  of  the  system,  as  origin- 
ally built,  is  too  small  for  the  present  conditions  and  must 
be  reconstructed.  Owing  to  the  unexpected  growth  of 
the  city,  it  is,  and  long  will  be,  necessary  to  build  relief 
sewers  all  over  the  city.  Important  work  of  reconstruc- 
tion is  required  in  the  Loop  District,  or  most  important 
business  section  of  the  city,  by  reason  of  insufficient  size, 
damages  caused  in  the  construction  of  buildings  and  other 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  71 

. 

structures,  and  foulness  and  difficulty  of  cleaning  the 
present  sewers.  As  a  rule,  the  sewers  are  half  filled  with 
dirt  and  sewage  even  in  dry  weather.  An  interesting  and 
important  report  on  the  reconstruction  of  the  sewers  in 
the  Loop  District  was  made  by  C.  D.  Hill,  Superintendent 
of  Sewers,  March  27,  1911.* 

Mr.  Hill's  report  recommends  that  the  new  sewers 
be  built  on  the  separate  system  in  the  Loop  and  that  no 
domestic  sewage  be  discharged  into  the  main  river  lest  it 
be  flushed  into  the  lake  by  occasional  reversals  of  current. 
The  author  recommends  that  some  form  of  apparatus  be 
installed  at  the  outlet  of  each  sewer  that  would,  to  some 
extent,  purify  the  sewage  and  thereby  decrease  the  pollu- 
tion of  the  river,  and  he  looks  forward  to  a  still  further 
exclusion  of  the  sewage  from  the  river  in  this  part  of  the 
city.  Mr.  Hill  says,  p.  562: 

"In  the  designing  and  building  of  these  sewers,  it  is  ad- 
visable to  anticipate  the  future  construction  of  an  intercepting 
sewer  that  will  convey  all  of  the  sewage  of  this  district  to 
some  convenient  place  for  purification,  as  the  population  of 
the  city  of  Chicago  will  undoubtedly  increase  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  the  mere  dilution  of  the  sewage  will  not  be  suffi- 
cient. It  will  be  necessary  to  purify,  at  least  partially,  the 
sewage  before  it  it  discharged  into  the  Sanitary  District 
Channel." 

4.— THE    FOUR    METHODS    OF    DISPOSAL    ORIGINALLY 

CONSIDERED. 

Four  alternatives  for  the  disposal  of  the  sewage  were 
considered  by  the  Chesbrough  Commission : 

1.  Directly  into  the  river  and  thence  into  the  lake. 

2.  Directly  into  the  lake. 

3.  Into  artificial  reservoirs  to  be  pumped  and  used  as  fer- 

tilizer, and 

4.  Into  the  river  and  thence  by  a  steamboat  canal  to  the 

Illinois  river. 

The  first  plan  was  adopted  because  it  seemed  to  in- 
volve fewest  uncertainties  and  took  the  best  and  most 
economical  advantage  of  the  opportunities  of  the  site.  To 

*The  Sewerage  System  of  Chicago,  by  C.  D.  Hill,  Journal  of  the  Western 
Society  of  Engineers,  Vol.  XVI,  No.  7,  Sept.,  1911  pp.  545-564. 


72  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

drain  directly  into  the  lake  would  require  greater  length 
of  sewers  and  more  cost  and  might  lead  to  trouble  in  pro- 
tecting the  outlets  against  wave  action  at  times  of  storm 
and  ice.  It  was  supposed  that  the  sewage  might  affect  the 
water  supply,  if  any  of  the  outlets  should  be  near  the 
pumping  station. 

The  river  was  at  this  time  in  a  seriously  polluted  con- 
dition. Its  sluggish  nature  had  early  caused  trouble. 
Ordinances  were  passed  to  restrict  the  pollution  in  1833-4 
and  subsequently,  but  in  spite  of  these  legal  precautions, 
the  river  became  more  and  more  polluted.  By  1845  its 
condition  was  described  as  "terribly  offensive." 

When,  in  1855,  Mr.  Chesbrough  proposed  to  dis- 
charge the  sewage  into  the  river,  he  took  pains  to  explain 
that  the  solid  materials  which  would  thus  be  emptied  into 
the  stream  were  relatively  light  and  would  be  flushed  out. 
If  deposits  occurred,  they  would  be  swept  into  the  lake  at 
seasons  of  freshet. 

An  attempt  to  utilize  the  sewage  for  fertilizing  pur- 
poses, Mr.  Chesbrough  thought,  might  not  prove  success- 
ful and  the  storage  of  the  sewage  in  reservoirs  might  lead 
to  foul  odors  which  would  seriously  threaten  the  health 
of  the  inhabitants.  The  discharge  of  the  sewage  into  the 
proposed  steamboat  canal,  which  was  regarded  by  Ches- 
brough, in  1856,.  as  a  proposition  "too  remote  for  present 
purposes,"  was  carried  out,  1892-1900. 

With  reference  to  the  use  of  the  canal  for  sending  the 
sewage  to  the  Illinois  River,  Mr.  Chesbrough  said: 

"Should  the  proposed  steamboat  canal  ever  be  made  for 
commercial  purposes,  the  plan  now  recommended  would  be 
about  as  well  adapted  to  such  a  state  of  things  as  it  is  to  the 
present,  making  it  necessary  to  abandon  only  the  proposed 
method  of  supplying  the  South  Branch  with  fresh  water  from 
the  lake  and  to  pump  up  from  the  new  canal,  or  draw  from  the 
Desplaines  directly,  flushing  water  from  the  west  district, 
instead  of  obtaining  it  from  the  present  canal  at  Bridgeport 
as  herein  recommended." 

In  order  clearly  to  understand  the  foregoing  quota- 
tion, which  shows  the  intention  of  the  designer  of  the  pres- 
ent sewerage  works  of  Chicago,  it  is  necessary  to  explain 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  73 


that  the  plan  contemplated  a  flow  of  flushing  water 
through  the  Chicago  River  which  would  be  maintained  in 
part  by  means  of  canals  from  the  lake  to  the  North  and 
South  Branches.  The  mention  of  Bridgeport  refers  to  the 
location  of  the  pumping  station  by  which  some  of  the 
water  of  the  Chicago  River  was  fed  to  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal. 

The  new  sewerage  works,  together  with  the  wastes 
discharged  by  the  packing  houses  and  other  industrial  es- 
tablishments, soon  led  to  offensive  conditions  in  the  river. 
In  1836,  an  erysipelas  epidemic  occurred  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  South  Branch  and  was  attributed  to  the  de- 
composition of  the  blood  and  other  wastes  which  were  dis- 
charged from  the  slaughter  houses.  The  vicinity  became 
known  as  the  "Valley  of  Death."  The  Board  of  Health 
was  established  in  this  year. 

5.— FIRST  USE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  AND  MICHIGAN  CANAL 
FOR  DISPOSING  OF  THE  SEWAGE. 

It  is  said  that  the  possibility  of  an  all-water  route  for 
commerce  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  was  a 
controlling  factor  in  determining  the  site  of  Chicago.  At 
seasons  of  heavy  rainfall,  it  was  possible  to  take  a  boat 
through  the  Chicago  River  to  and  into  the  Desplaines, 
which  then  overflowed  its  ordinary  channel,  and  pass 
thence  down  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi.  The  State  of 
Illinois  early  recognized  the  value  of  a  water  route,  and  in 
1836  adopted  plans  for  the  construction  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal. 

The  Canal  was  opened  in  1848.  It  ran,  with  a  water 
surface  width  of  sixty  feet  and  a  depth  of  six  feet,  from 
the.  South  Branch  of  the  Chicago  River  in  a  southwesterly 
direction,  across  the  divide  separating  the  drainage  areas 
of  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Illinois  River,  to  La  Salle,  a  dis- 
tance of  96  miles.  Originally  intended  for  navigation,  the 
canal  was  fed  partly  from  the  Desplaines  and  the  Calumet 
Rivers,  which  lie  to  the  west  and  south  of  Chicago,  and 
partly  from  the  South  Branch  of  the  Chicago  River  by  a 


74  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

lift  wheel  at  Bridgeport,  the  head  of  the  canal,  five  and 
one-half  miles  from  Lake  Michigan. 

The  canal  was  soon  found  to  be  serviceable  in  dispos- 
ing of  some  of  Chicago's  sewage.  Little  water  could  be 
supplied  to  the  canal  by  the  Desplaines  and  Calumet 
Rivers  in  the  summer,  and,  in  consequence  of  this  fact, 
practically  all  the  flow  in  the  summit  level  of  26.5  miles 
was  obtained  from  the  Chicago  River  by  means  of  the 
Bridgeport  pumps.  This  carried  away  considerable  quan- 
tities of  the  sewage  which  was  making  the  river  foul. 

6.— ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  AND   MICHIGAN 
CANAL  SO  AS  TO  TAKE  MORE  SEWAGE. 

The  original  project  for  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
Canal  provided  for  a  flow  to  be  secured  entirely  by  gravity, 
and  in  1865  the  State  authorized  the  completion  of  the 
canal  in  accordance  with  that  plan.  The  intention  was  to 
take  in  more  water  at  the  head  and  thus  secure  a  thorough 
cleansing  and  purification  of  the  Chicago  River.  The 
work  of  enlarging  was  done  by  the  City  of  Chicago  be- 
tween 1866  and  1871  and  it  appears  that  about  $3,000,000 
was  expended  in  this  undertaking. 

Meanwhile,  the  city  grew  rapidly  and  the  volume  of 
sewage  increased  beyond  expectation.  In  1870,  the  popu- 
lation was  three  times  what  it  had  been  ten  years  before; 
that  is,  about  330,060.  At  the  stockyards,  over  one  mil- 
lion head  of  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  were  slaughtered  year- 
ly. The  industry  was  located  in  a  swampy  district  to  the 
south  of  the  city  and  its  drainage  was  discharged  into  an 
arm  of  the  South  Branch  of  the  Chicago  River,  a  sluggish 
ditch,  utterly  inadequate  to  receive  it. 

The  increased  flow  of  the  canal  was  insufficient  to  ac- 
complish the  desired  object  and  the  Chicago  River  became 
more  notoriously  foul  than  before.  Only  the  South 
Branch  and  main  river  were  improved:  the  water  of  the 
North  Branch  remained  no  better  than  it  had  been.  By 
1874,  the  condition  of  the  North  Branch  was  deplorable. 
In  the  language  of  one  who  had  occasion  frequently  to 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  75 

pass  near  this  stream,  "No  words  can  describe  the  potency 
of  that  smell." 

In  1880  there  was  carried  out  a  project  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  North  Branch,  called  the  Fullerton  Ave- 
nue Conduit.  This  conduit  was  a  brick  tunnel,  12  feet  in 
diameter  and  11,898  feet  long,  connecting  the  North 
Branch  with  Lake  Michigan.  The  water  was  moved  by 
means  of  two  screws,  like  those  of  a  propeller,  placed  in 
the  center  line  of  a  boat-shaped  iron  chamber.  The  tested 
capacity  of  the  works  was  24,000  cubic  feet  per  minute, 
but  they  were  generally  operated  at  about  one-half  of  that 
rate.  The  water  could  be  made  to  flow  in  either  direction. 
It  was  found  much  more  effective  to  pump  the  water  of 
the  North  Branch  into  the  lake  than  to  operate  in  the  op- 
posite direction  and  this  course  was  usually  followed. 

7.— CONSTRUCTION  OF  PUMPS  TO   FORCE  MORE  SEW- 
AGE THROUGH  THE  ILLINOIS  AND  MICHIGAN  CANAL. 

In  1881,  the  State  Legislature  granted  permission  to 
the  city  to  augment  the  flow  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
Canal  by  pumping.  The  population  was  then  about  half  a 
million.  Over  six  million  animals  were  being  slaughtered 
at  the  stockyards  annually,  mostly  in  the  winter  season. 
After  graphically  describing  the  insanitary  conditions 
which  existed  in  the  canal  and  valley,  the  Legislature  set 
forth  in  a  joint  resolution  that  "if  said  city  should  proceed 
without  delay  to  cause  a  flow  into  the  canal  from  the  Chi- 
cago River  sufficient  to  dilute  and  purify  the  waters  and 
thus  remedy  the  evils  complained  of,  said  flow  to  be  not 
less  than  60,000  cubic  feet  per  minute — or  so  much  thereof 
as  said  canal  can  carry/'  Chicago  might  continue  to  use 
the  canal  for  sewage  disposal  purposes. 

The  pumps  were  erected  at  Bridgeport  in  1886.  They 
had  a  tested  capacity  of  60,000  cubic  feet  per  minute,  and 
were  usually  operated  by  the  city  at  60  to  80  per  cent  of 
this  limit,  until  the  Main  Drainage  Channel  was  operated 
in  1900.  Notwithstanding  the  increased  flow  secured  by 
the  pumps,  the  effect  upon  the  Chicago  River  was  far  from 
satisfactory.  The  canal  could  not  dispose  of  the  sewage 


76  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

of  the  population  which,  in  the  QO'S,  exceeded  one  and  a 
half  million,  and  the  drainage  of  the  stockyards  which,  in 
1895,  slaughtered  an  average  of  30,000  animals  per  day. 

8.— INCEPTION  OF  THE  PROJECT  FOR  A  SANITARY  AND 

SHIP  CANAL. 

Private  citizens  took  an  active  part  in  promoting  the 
construction  of  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal,  and  it  was 
due  to  their  efforts  that  the  technical  board  known  as  the 
Water  Supply  and  Drainage  Commission  was  appointed 
in  1886,  upon  whose  recommendation  the  project  was 
finally  carried  out.  In  fact,  it  appears  that  the  conclusion 
of  the  Water  Supply  and  Drainage  Commission  as  to  the 
best  means  of  disposing  of  the  sewage  was  foreshadowed 
in  considerable  detail  seven  years  before  the  Commission's 
report  was  made. 

In  a  report  of  the  Main  Drainage  Committee  of  the 
Citizens'  Association,  rendered  in  1880,  it  was  stated  that 
the  Chicago  River  might  be  regarded  as  a  great  ditch,  six 
miles  long,  averaging  about  150  feet  in  width  and  10  to  15 
feet  in  depth,  into  which  flowed  the  greater  part  of  the 
sewage  of  Chicago,  together  with  the  offal  of  the  immense 
slaughter  houses,  the  refuse  of  manufacturing  establish- 
ments, great  and  small,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  that  of  the 
distilleries  and  their  neighboring  cattle  pens.  All  efforts 
to  cleanse  the  river  had  failed.  The  committee  proposed, 
as  a  measure  of  relief  suitable  for  all  time  to  come,  a  new 
cut  or  canal  of  dimensions  comparable  with  those  of  a 
river,  to  carry  the  drainage  of  the  city  and  neighboring 
settlements  over  the  divide  to  the  west. 

In  order  to  make  the  plan  complete,  all  the  sewage 
would  have  to  be  discharged  into  the  river  or  its  branches. 
The  Fullerton  Avenue  Conduit  could  remain  as  it  was 
originally,  or  it  could  be  utilized  for  an  additional  water 
supply.  The  forks  and  branches  of  the  river  at  the  south 
end  would  purify  themselves  as  the  currents  would  gravi- 
tate toward  the  current  created  by  the  outflow  of  the 
"New  River,"  as  the  proposed  channel  was  to  be  called^ 
The  water  of  the  Chicago  River  would  be  renewed  every 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  77 

24  hours,  with  one  million  cubic  feet  over  the  "whole  body 
of  it  within  the  city  limits  would,  by  this  operation,  be- 
come as  clear  as  the  water  of  the  lake." 

9.— DEMAND  FOR  THE  DRAINAGE  CHANNEL  IN  1885. 

The  Committee  on  Main  Drainage  and  Water  Supply 
of  the  Citizens'  Association  made  another  report  on 
August  27,  1885,  following  an  unprecedented  flood  in  the 
Desplaines  River  which  overflowed  to  the  Chicago  River 
and  carried  a  great  black  mass  of  accumulated  filth  from 
the  latter  into  the  lake  and  so  to  the  public  water  supply. 
In  this  report,  the  proposition  of  1880  was  amplified  and 
urged  as  a  public  necessity  which  should  receive  the  atten- 
tion of  a  commission  of  experts  to  be  created  for  the  pur- 
pose of  devising  a  comprehensive  system  for  disposing 
of  the  sewage  of  the  city  and  putting  a  stop  for  all  time  to 
the  insanitary  conditions  which  then  existed.  The  South 
Fork  was  declared  to  be  "in  an  abominable  condition  of 
filth  beyond  the  power  of  pen  to  describe,"  the  drinking 
water  as  obviously  and  undeniably  polluted  by  the  occa- 
sional discharges  of  the  river  and  of  the  Fullerton  Avenue 
Conduit  into  the  lake,  and  the  city  in  serious  danger  of 
floods  from  the  Desplaines.  Chicago  then  had  reached  a 
population  of  nearly  700,000,  and  the  report  said: 

"That  the  city  should  have  attained  this  growth  without 
an  adequate  official  plan  for  a  permanent  system  of  main  drain- 
age would  be  startling  in  this  day  of  sanitary  science,  were  it 
evident  that  the  conditions  of  the  problem  had  ever  been  prop- 
erly apprehended." 

The  project  proposed  by  the  committee  was  for  a  new 
channel  between  the  Chicago  River  and  the  Desplaines, 
which  would  "take  care  of  the  natural  flow  of  260  square 
miles  of  territory  and  the  sewage,  properly  diluted,  of  its 
population."  This  waterway  could  easily  be  developed 
into  a  ship  canal  to  unite  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Missis- 
sippi and  could,  moreover,  with  due  regard  to  the  interests 
of  navigation,  be  made  to  develop  over  100,000  horse- 
power. 


78  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

As  to  other  methods  of  disposing  of  the  sewage,  the 
committee  reported  that— 

"Experience  has  not  yet  developed  any  artificial  treatment 
of  sewage  that  does  not  involve  large  first  cost  and  continual 
expenditure.  The  best  of  these,  by  the  method  of  intermit- 
tent downward  filtration,  is  not  feasible  for  Chicago,  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  distance  to  proper  land." 

The  proper  disposal  of  the  sewage  was  declared  to  be 
unquestionably  down  the  valley  of  the  Illinois.  It  must  be 
diluted  to1  the  point  which  will  speedily  produce  a  com- 
plete oxidation,  or  the  growing  population  along  the  river 
will  not  permanently  tolerate  so  insufferable  a  nuisance" 
and  "the  contents  of  all  channelways  into  which  sewage  is 
discharged  should  be  changed  so  rapidly  that  no  sewage 
will  remain  within  the  city  limits  over  24  hours." 

10.— APPOINTMENT     OF     THE     WATER     SUPPLY     AND 
DRAINAGE  COMMISSION  OF  1886-7. 

Support  for  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal  project  was 
afforded  by  the  report  of  the  Water  Supply  and  Drainage 
Commission,  which  was  appointed  by  the  Mayor  of"  Chi- 
cago in  1886. 

Instructions  were  given  by  the  City  Council  for  an  in- 
vestigation and  report  which  would  give  the  city  a  definite 
plan  and  policy  for  the  development  of  "a  system  of  water 
supply  and  drainage  adequate  to  meet  the  requirements 
not  only  of  the  present,  but  of  years  to  come."  Pure  water 
and  scientific  drainage  were  declared  to  be  necessities  of 
Chicago,  and  it  was  expressly  stated  that  the  people  de- 
manded a  comprehensive  and  carefully  worked  out  sys- 
tem; "no  temporary  expedient  or  makeshift  would  satisfy 
them,"  and  that  the  existing  methods  of  drainage  and 
sewerage  were  inadequate. 

The  commission  was  not  only  to  report  upon  all  engi- 
neering and  sanitary  matters  connected  with  the  subject, 
but  was  to  "determine  the  great  question  as  to  the  interest 
which  the  State  and  the  United  States  may  have  in  the  dis- 
posal of  sewage  by  way  of  the  Illinois  River,  and  to  devise 
plans  to  meet  any  objections  thereto,  if  such  a  system, 
shall  be  thought  best." 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  79 

The  commission  was  instructed  to  "report  on  the 
whole  matter  committed  to  it  in  the  most  full  and  compre- 
hensive manner,  with  maps,  plans  and  diagrams  complete, 
and  accompany  the  report  with  estimates  of  first  cost  and 
annual  requirements  for  the  maintenance  of  the  system 
proposed,"  not  later  than  January,  1887.  The  sum  of  $50,- 
ooo  was  made  available  for  the  uses  of  the  commission. 

The  commission  was  to  be  composed  of  "one  expert 
engineer,  whose  reputation  is  so  high  that  his  opinion  and 
report  will  command  the  respect  of  the  community,  and 
with  him  one  or  two  consulting  engineers  of  like  experi- 
ence in  engineering  and  sanitary  matters."  The  body  so 
created  was  called  the  Water  Supply  and  Drainage  Com- 
mission. Rudolph  Hering  was  chosen  Chief  Engineer, 
and  served  ten  months,  Benezette  Williams  served  four 
months,  and  Samuel  Artingstall  served  about  one  month 
up  to  the  time  that  the  report  was  submitted. 

The  report  was  made  in  January,  1887,  as  required  by 
the  City  Council  in  its  resolution  authorizing  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Commission.  The  intention  of  the  Commis- 
sioners in  making  this  report  was  to  indicate  the  character 
of  the  legislation  which  might  be  required  in  order  to 
carry  out  any  project  determined  upon  and  leave  to  a  later 
date  the  presentation  of  the  detailed  features  of  the 
scheme  and  other  minor  results  of  the  inquiry.  No  other 
report  was  made. 

11.— CONDITIONS    OF    WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SEWAGE 
DISPOSAL  IN  CHICAGO  IN  1887. 

It  is  desirable  at  this  point  to  review,  briefly,  the  con- 
ditions which  the  Commission  had  to  consider,  for  it  will 
be  necessary  to  examine  their  conclusions  closely. 

At  the  time  of  the  investigation,  most  of  the  sewage 
of  the  North  and  West  Sides,  and  part  of  the  South  Side, 
was  discharged  directly  into  the  Chicago  River.  From 
Evanston,  which  adjoins  Chicago  on  the  north,  the  sew- 
age was  discharged  into  the  lake.  From  a  part  of  the 
South  Side  it  was  emptied  into  the  lake  through  three  out- 
lets, situated  at  Twelfth,  Twenty-second  and  Thirty-fifth 


80  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

streets.  To  the  south,  the  sewage  of  Pullman  was  dis- 
posed of  on  land.  The  town  of  Lake,  including-  the  stock 
yards  district,  drained  into  the  South  Fork  of  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Chicago  River. 

At  times,  the  city  suffered  greatly  from  the  offensive 
condition  of  the  river  and  from  the  contamination  of  the 
water  supply  brought  about  by  the  discharge  of  the  pol- 
luted contents  of  the  river  into  the  lake. 

The  intake  for  the  water  supply  was  located  in  Lake 
Michigan  about  two  miles  from  shore,  opposite  the  foot 
of  Chicago  Avenue.  The  water  was  brought  to  shore 
through  two  circular,  brick  tunnels,  five  and  seven  feet  in 
diameter,  lying  fifty  feet  apart  and  eighty  feet  below  the 
level  of  low  water  in  the  lake. 

At  the  shore  end  of  the  tunnels,  the  water  was 
pumped  directly  into  the  mains  for  distribution.  The 
maximum  capacity  of  the  tunnels  was  about  150,000,000 
gallons  per  day,  and  this  was  nearly  reached  at  times  of 
greater  consumption.  A  new  intake  was  being  built  1,500 
feet  from  shore  to  connect  with  the  others,  to  provide 
against  accident  and  to  insure  an  adequate  supply  for  the 
near  future. 

The  capacity  of  the  water  works,  as  to  intakes,  pump- 
ing machinery  and  distribution  was  described  by  the  Com- 
mission as  inadequate  and  the  report  declared  that  an  in- 
creased supply  was  imperatively  needed.  The  business  sec- 
tion and  the  southern  part  of  the  city  were  suffering  from 
a  want  of  water;  there  were  parts  of  the  district  where  it 
was  impossible  to  get  water  in  the  second  story  of  the 
houses. 

The  investigators-  considered  that  the  solution  of 
the  problem  submitted  to  them  demanded  the  attainment 
of  two  objects:  The  protection  of  the  water  supply  and 
the  removal  of  the  river  nuisance.  Inasmuch  as  the  water 
must  be  taken  from  the  lake,  it  was  concluded  that  both 
its  pollution  and  the  objectionable  condition  of  the  river 
should  be  prevented  by  a  better  disposition  of  the  sewage. 
The  latter  question  constituted  the  main  object  of  the  in- 
vestigation. 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  81 

The  confidence  with  which  the  investigators  consid- 
ered that  they  had  solved  the  sewage  disposal  half  of  their 
problem  is  shown  by  the  recommendations  which  they 
made  for  the  other  half:  the  development  of  the  water  sup- 
ply. New  tunnels,  inlets,  buildings  and  machinery  were 
required,  and  the  city  was  urged  to  decide  upon  the  loca- 
tion of  the  new  works  as  soon  as  possible.  Two  pumping 
stations  were  recommended  for  the  southern  part  of  the 
city:  One  between  Harrison  and  Twelfth  streets  and  the 
other  somewhere  east  of  the  Union  Stock  Yards.  Other 
pumping  stations  would  be  required  as  the  population  in- 
creased. 

With  regard  to  the  quality  of  the  water  to  be  ob- 
tained, the  report  says: 

"With  the  sewage  kept  out  of  the  lake,  there  is  no  need 
of  locating  the  intake  farther  than  two  miles  from  the  shore, 
where  water  can  be  obtained  sufficiently  free  from  suspended 
earthy  matter,  and  where  a  depth  of  about  thirty  feet  is  gen- 
erally found,  which  is  the  least  depth  desirable  for  a  sub- 
merged outlet." 

12.— THE    THREE    METHODS     OF     SEWAGE     DISPOSAL 

CONSIDERED  BY  THE  WATER  SUPPLY  AND 

DRAINAGE  COMMISSION. 

Among  the  possible  methods  of  getting  rid  of  the  sew- 
age there  were  three  that  were  thought  worthy  of  con- 
sideration by  the  commission:  Discharge  into  Lake  Mich- 
igan ;  disposal  on  land,  and  discharge  into  the  Desplaines 
River  and  thus  to  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi.  The  work 
of  the  commission  had  reference  to  these  three  possibil- 
ities and  was  classed  as  hydrographic,  topographic  and 
miscellaneous. 

At  the  time  the  commission  was  created,  the  topo- 
graphical work  was  already  under  way  under  Mr.  Arting- 
stall,  who  was  the  City  Engineer.  It  consisted  of  surveys 
which  were  apparently  intended  chiefly  to  determine  the 
feasibility  of  diverting  the  sewage  to  the  Desplaines.  The 
hydrographic  work  was  put  in  charge  of  Mr.  Lyman  E. 
Cooley,  and  consisted  largely  in  determining  the  flow  of 
the  Desplaines  and  the  probable  effect  of  discharging  the 


82  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

sewage  of  Chicago  into  it  when  diluted  by  a  large  and 
constant  stream  of  water  from  the  lake.  There  were  also 
studied  under  this  head  the  currents  and  levels  of  the 
lake  and  the  question  of  deposits  in  the  river  and  in  the 
lake  in  front  of  the  city  to  determine  the  effects  of  the 
sewage  as  then  discharged. 

Among  the  other  branches  of  the  investigation  men- 
tioned by  the  Commissioners  in  their  report  were  studies 
as  to  the  feasibility  of  purifying  the  sewage  by  filtration 
on  land  and  the  probable  growth  and  distribution  of  the 
population  of  Chicago  and  its  environs. 

No  reference  is  made  in  the  report  as  to  the  probable 
effect  of  the  sewage  on  the  health  and  comfort  of  the 
people  in  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  River  Valleys,  nor  to 
the  possible  pollution  of  the  water  supply  of  the  City  of  St. 
Louis  and  other  cities  on  the  Mississippi.  Nothing  is  said 
as  to  the  possibility  of  purifying  the  water  supply  of 
Chicago,  although  the  efficacy  of  slow  sand  filtration  was 
recognized  at  the  time.  Such  filters  had  been  in  use  in 
England  for  the  treatment  of  a  part  of  the  London  water 
supplies  since  1839,  in  Berlin  since  1856,  and  in  Pough- 
keepsie  and  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  from  the  early  /o's. 

If  the  Commission  undertook  to  determine  the  great 
question  as  to  the  interests  which  the  State  of  Illinois  and 
the  United  States  had  in  the  disposal  of  the  sewage  by 
way  of  the  Illinois  River  in  accordance  with  their  instruc- 
tions, there  is  no  mention  of  the  fact  in  their  report.  This 
is  greatly  to  be  regretted  in  view  of  the  long  continued  dis- 
pute and  present  litigation  between  the  Sanitary  District 
and  the  United  States  Government  over  the  diversion  of 
water  from  Lake  Michigan  for  the  use  of  the  Canal. 

Of  the  three  methods  of  disposing  of  the  sewage,  only 
the  discharge  of  the  wastes  into  the  Desplaines  met  the 
approval  of  the  Water  and  Drainage  Commission. 

13.— THE     COMMISSION'S     OBJECTIONS     TO     DISPOSAL 
INTO  THE  LAKE  AND  ON  LAND. 

The  report  stated  that  if  the  sewage  was  discharged 
into  the  lake,  it  would  have  to  be  emptied  at  one  end  of 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  83 

the  city,  while  the  water  supply  should  be  obtained  as  far 
away  from  that  point  as  practicable;  a  conclusion  which 
has  been  acted  upon  by  some  other  large  lake  cities.  It 
might  be  practicable,  the  authors  thought,  to  allow  the 
sewage  to  enter  the  lake  for  many  years  under  these  cir- 
cumstances; but  the  necessity  would  arise  later  for  clarify- 
ing it,  at  least  partially,  previous  to  discharge.  The  dry 
weather  flow  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  storm  water 
would  have  to  be  intercepted  and  carried  through  many 
miles  of  conduits  and  pumped  to  the  outlet.  The  water 
supply  would  have  to  be  brought  a  long  distance  and  dis- 
tributed by  pumping  stations  scattered  through  the  city. 
Nor  would  the  removal  of  the  dry  weather  flow  of  sewage 
entirely  prevent  the  pollution  of  the  Chicago  River. 

The  plan  contemplated  for  the  disposal  of  the  sewage 
on  land  was  by  intermittent  filtration.  To  carry  out  this 
scheme,  the  Commission  stated  that  there  would  be  re- 
quired: A  sufficient  area  of  land,  a  comprehensive  system 
of  intercepting  sewers  to  carry  the  sewage  to  the  works; 
pumping  plans  to  handle  the  sewage  and  a  certain  amount 
of  storm  water;  a  thorough  preparation  of  the  land,  in- 
cluding leveling,  underdraining,  and  a  distributing  sys- 
tem; means  for  removing  the  purified  water  from  the  beds, 
and,  finally,  buildings,  roads,  a  complete  farming  outfit 
and  an  organization  for  carrying  on  the  farming  oper- 
ations and  disposing  of  the  crops. 

The  land  disposal  scheme  was  worked  out  on  the 
basis  of  2,000,000  people,  with  an  average  dry  weather 
sewage  discharge  of  150  gallons  per  head  per  day.  The 
allowance  for  storm  water  was  equivelent  to  one-fifth  of 
an  inch  in  twenty-four  hours  over  all  portions  of  the  dis- 
trict now  drained,  or  likely  to  be  drained,  by  a  system  of 
sewers.  The  surplus  water  was  to  be  allowed  to  discharge 
into  the  rivers  and  lakes.  The  dry  weather  flow  of  sew- 
age would  be  50,000,000  cubic  feet  per  day  and  the  maxi- 
mum flow  of  storm  water  65,000,000  cubic  feet  per  day, 
making  a  total  maximum  discharge  of  115,000,000  cubic 
feet.  The  land  required  would  be  10,000  to  15,000  acres. 

The  only  available  territory  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago 


84  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

suitable  for  sewage  disposal,  the  Commission  said,  con- 
sisted of  two  sandy  ridges  in  the  town  of  Thornton,  ex- 
tending across  the  state  line  into  Indiana,  and  a  sandy 
ridge  crossing  the  town  of  Niles.  The  Commission  said 
that  an  enormous  cost  would  be  represented  by  the  fact 
that  the  sewage  would  have  to  be  collected  by  large  inter- 
cepting sewers,  lifted  altogether  some  90  feet  and  carried 
about  20  miles  before  reaching  the  farms.  With  regard 
to  the  alternative  of  disposing  of  the  sewage  on  land,  the 
commissioners  stated:  "We  therefore  consider  such  a 
project  impracticable." 

14.-— THE  DRAINAGE  CANAL  RECOMMENDED. 

The  third  solution  was  the  one  which  was  recom- 
mended. The  sewage  should  be  carried  across  the  low 
divide  which  separated  the  city  of  Chicago  from  the  Des- 
plaines  River  Valley,  "avoiding  thereby  all  possible  lake 
pollution  and  permitting  the  supply  of  water  to  be  drawn 
from  any  number  of  convenient  points  in  front  of  the  city." 
For  this  purpose,  the  current  of  the  Chicago  River  should 
be  reversed  by  connecting  the  South  Branch  with  the  Des- 
plaines  River,  the  means  of  connection  being  a  canal  of 
such  size  as  to  be  capable  of  carrying  off  the  storm  waters 
of  the  Chicago  River  after  some  of  the  flow  of  the  head 
waters  had  been  diverted.  Flood  flows  of  the  river  had 
been  known  to  reach  a  maximum  of  10,000  cubic  feet  per 
second,  and  this  was  an  important  element  in  fixing  the 
size  of  the  Drainage  Canal. 

The  diversion  of  the  sewage  was  to  be  complete.  The 
report  said  that  with  the  sewage  kept  out  of  the  lake,  there 
would  be  no  need  of  locating  the  waterworks  intake  far- 
ther than  two  miles  from  shore. 

How  and  where  the  sewage  was  to  be  discharged  into 
the  Chicago  River  was  not  stated.  No  precautions  were 
suggested  for  the  avoidance  of  deposits,  or  dead  ends,  or 
unsightly  or  malodorous  conditions,  except  that  the  sew- 
age was  to  be  diluted  to  a  specified  extent  with  lake  water. 
Nothing  was  said  about  trade  wastes  in  the  report. 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  85 

15.— AMOUNT  OF  DILUTION  RECOMMENDED. 

The  sanitary  requirements  demanded  a  flow  of  water 
sufficiently  great  to  dilute  the  sewage  so  that  it  would  be 
inoffensive  along  the  river  at  all  times  and  to  carry  away 
the  storm  water  from  the  drainage  area  so  that  there 
would  be  no  back  flow  of  polluted  water  from  the  river  to 
the  lake.  In  short,  the  natural  currents  of  the  Chicago 
River  were  to  be  completely,  and  at  all  times,  reversed,  so 
that  instead  of  flowing  to  the  lake,  the  water  of  the  river 
with  its  sewage  was  to  be  carried  by  the  canal  to  the  Des- 
plaines. 

With  regard  to  the  dilution  required,  the  Commis- 
sion reported  as  follows: 

"The  proper  degree  of  pollution  of  the  new  channel  de- 
manded a  careful  investigation.  When  sewage  is  mingled  with 
a  sufficiently  large  quantity  of  water  it  not  only  becomes  in- 
offensive, but  readily  finds  the  oxygen  which  gradually  purifies 
it.  When  the  surface  is  covered  with  ice,  a  greater  dilution  is 
necessary  for  this  purpose  than  at  other  times  when  there  is  a 
constant  replenishment  of  oxygen  from  the  air.  The  proposed 
waterway  should,  of  course,  provide  immunity  from  offense 
at  all  times." 

It  was  stated  that  the  information  which  would 
definitely  decide  the  extent  of  the  dilution  would  be  given 
in  another  report,  as  the  data  had  not  all  been  collected; 
but  no  other  report  was  submitted.  For  the  purpose  of 
estimating  the  cost,  it  was  assumed  that  the  channel  would 
have  a  cross  section  of  3,600  square  feet  and  a  velocity  for 
the  water  of  3  feet  per  second,  or  two  miles  per  hour.  This 
gave  a  discharge  of  about  600,000  cubic  feet  per  minute, 
or  a  dilution  of  24,000  cubic  feet  of  water  per  minute  for 
each  100,000  persons  contributing  sewage.  This  was  be- 
lieved to  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  maximum  requirements 
of  a  population  of  2,500,000  persons. 

It  was  recognized  that  difficulty  would  be  experi- 
enced in  securing  such  a  flow  of  water  through  the  va- 
rious branches  of  the  river  that  there  should  be  no  dis- 
charge to  the  lake  at  times  when  the  level  of  the  latter  sud- 
denly fell  as  a  result  of  wind  and  barometric  conditions. 


86  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

Marked  fluctuations  often  occurred  at  intervals  of  a  few 
minutes.  In  one  case,  August  16,  1886,  the  lake  level  fell 
2  feet  10  inches  in  fifteen  minutes.  On  such  occasions,  the 
foul  water  of  the  river  had  been  traced  flowing  into  the 
lake  for  more  than  a  mile  in  the  direction  of  the  water 
works  intake.  To  overcome  the  tendency  of  the  river  to 
discharge  into  the  lake,  the  Commission  proposed  that  the 
upper  Desplaines  and  the  North  Branch  be  diverted  to 
the  lake  and  that  a  lock  be  constructed  in  the  North 
Branch. 

16.— COST  OF  THE  DRAINAGE  CANAL. 

The  Water  and  Drainage  Commission  estimated  that 
to  discharge  the  sewage  directly  into  the  lake  and  take  the 
water  supply  from  a  point  sufficiently  distant  to  insure 
freedom  from  pollution  would  cost  at  least  $37,000,000, 
with  an  annual  expense  for  interest  and  operation  of  at 
least  $2,400,000.  To  dispose  of  the  sewage  of  the  district 
by  filtration  on  land  would  require  an  investment  of  about 
$58,000,000  and  an  annual  expense  of  over  $3,000,000.  The 
total  cost  of  the  Drainage  Canal  project  would  be  between 
$23,000,000  and  $27,950,000,  and  the  annual  cost,  includ- 
ing interest,  etc.,  about  $1,300,000. 

Beside  the  economical  advantages  of  the  Desplaines 
scheme  over  other  possible  methods  of  disposal,  its  super- 
iority was  urged  by  the  Commission  on  other  grounds. 
The  proposed  canal  would,  from  its  necessary  dimensions 
and  its  regular  discharge,  "produce  a  magnificent  water- 
way between  Chicago  and  the  Mississippi  River,  suitable 
for  the  navigation  of  boats  having  as  much  as  2,000  tons 
burden."  It  would  further  establish  a  water  power  of 
great  commercial  value  to  the  state  and,  by  lowering  the 
level  of  a  section  of  the  river,  would  have  the  same  effect 
as  raising  the  level  of  the  low-lying  prairie  in  that  vicin- 
ity. 

The  construction  of  the  main  drainage  and  disposal 
works,  with  their  intercepting  sewers,  waterways  and 
pumping  stations,  should  be  executed  under  one  manage- 
ment. As  to  the  limits  for  the  future  city,  the  investiga- 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  87 

tion  showed  that  the  topographical  conditions  clearly  de- 
fined two  distinct  districts.  The  main  district  extended 
from  Eighty-seventh  street  north  to  Evanston  and  from 
the  lake  to  the  Desplaines  River  on  the  west.  Its  sewage 
should  be  collected  into  one  channel  and  discharged  into 
the  Desplaines  Valley  at  Summit  about  three  miles  west 
of  the  lake.  The  other  district  should  extend  over  the 
natural  drainage  area  of  the  Calumet  River  and  Lake 
south  of  Eighty-seventh  street  and  have,  as  the  outfall  of 
its  sewage,  a  channel  to  run  from  Blue  Island  to  Sag. 

17.— CREATION  OF  THE  SANITARY  DISTRICT. 

Action  in  accordance  with  the  findings  of  the  Water 
Supply  and  Drainage  Commission  was  sought  at  once,  but 
was  delayed  by  the  Legislature.  An  Act  was  finally  passed 
and  approved  May  29,  1889. 

The  Act  provided,  among  other  things,  for  the  cre- 
ation of  a  Sanitary  District,  which  should  be  a  quasi- 
municipal  corporation,  to  construct  a  channel  and  neces- 
sary adjuncts  to  convey  the  drainage  and  sewage  of  the 
municipalities,  with  diluting  water  from  Lake  Michigan, 
to  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers.  The  channel  was  to 
have  sufficient  capacity  to  produce  a  continuous  flow  of 
not  less  than  20,000  cubic  feet  per  minute  for  each  100,000 
inhabitants.  Provision  was  intended  to  be  made  for  a 
population  of  3,000,000. 

It  appears  that  the  requirements  of  the  State  law  that 
not  less  than  20,000  cubic  feet  per  minute  must  be  diverted 
into  the  Drainage  Channel  for  every  100,000  inhabitants 
was  not  based  upon  a  definite  knowledge  of  the  amount  of 
diluting  water  required,  but  largely  upon  considerations 
of  expediency.  The  report  of  the  Drainage  and  Water 
Supply  Commission  refers  to  a  dilution  of  24,000  cubic  feet 
as  ample  for  the  dilution  of  the  sewage  of  2,500,000  per- 
sons. 

"The  capacity  of  the  channel  was  fixed  at  600,000  feet  as 
the  quantity  required  to  remove  the  flood  waters  from  some 
420  square  miles  of  territory  (after  the  diversion  of  the  Upper 
Desplaines  river)  and  prevent  the  same  from  backing  into  the 


88  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

lake.  The  basis  of  population  used  in  considering  land  dis- 
posal and  other  alternative  solutions  proposed  was  2,500,000 
and  this  figure  was  applied  to  the  proposed  channel  capacity, 
giving  the  ratio  of  24,000  cubic  feet  per  minute  for  each  100,000 
people  as  above  stated.  At  that  time  only  preliminary  con- 
siderations had  been  given  to  the  question  of  dilution ;  the 
chief  force  of  the  investigation  had  been  applied  to  the  investi- 
gation of  other  alternative  solutions." 

It  appears  from  the  foregoing  that  however  thorough 
the  hydrographic  and  engineering  work  of  the  Commis- 
sion may  have  been,  there  were  some  vital  questions  con- 
nected with  the  construction  of  the  Canal  which  had  not 
been  settled  or  perhaps  even  studied.  The  Commission 
is  itself  authority  for  the  statement  that  it  intended  to 
make  a  second  and  more  complete  report.  Had  the  Com- 
mission been  able  to  deal  with  the  questions  submitted  to 
it  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  which  it  received 
and  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the  high  sense  of  respon- 
sibility which  was  characteristic  of  its  members,  it  is 
certain  that  some  serious  and  expensive  errors  would  have 
been  avoided. 

18.— CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  SANITARY  AND   SHIP 

CANAL. 

The  construction  of  the  Chicago  Sanitary  and  Ship 
Canal  was  a  great  engineering  feat  which  became  justly 
celebrated  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Water  was  turned 
into  the  Canal,  in  accordance  with  a  permit  from  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Illinois,  on  January  17,  1900.  The 
Canal  was  not,  and  still  is  not,  completed  to  its  full  ca- 
pacity as  designed,  except  in  certain  sections  which  are 
built  in  the  rock.  When  finished,  it  was  to  have  a  capacity 
of  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second  when  flowing  at  a  velocity 
of  less  than  two  miles  per  hour.  It  has  been  found  since 
the  canal  was  opened  that  the  actual  capacity  toward  the 
lower  end  is  40  per  cent  greater  than  had  been  expected. 

Th  canal  is  28.05  miles  long.  It  is  22  feet  deep  and 
has  a  width  which  varies  in  different  places  between  no 
and  201  feet  at  bottom,  with  sides  either  vertical  or  in- 
clined one  on  two.  The  canal  is  approximately  parallel 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  89 

to  the  old  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  and  near  it.  Be- 
ginning at  Robey  street,  near  the  head  of  the  I.  &  M. 
Canal,  it  extends  to  Lockport,  where  the  level,  and  con- 
sequently the  flow,  are  regulated  by  a  moveable  dam  and 
sluice  gates.  The  water  is  discharged  into  the  Desplaines 
River  between  Lockport  and  Joliet. 

In  order  to  pass  the  desired  amount  of  water  through 
the  Chicago  River  without  creating  currents  of  excessive 
velocity,  improvements  in  the  river  were  begun  in  1901. 
By  these  a  width  of  200  feet  and  a  central  depth  of  26  feet 
were  to  be  attained. 

19.—THE  DIVERSION  OF  SEWAGE  FROM  THE  LAKE. 

Two  systems  of  intercepting  sewers  have  been  built 
by  the  city  to  collect  sewage  which  formerly  discharged 
into  the  lake  and  carry  it  to  arms  of  the  Chicago  River. 

One  of  these  systems,  which  was  practically  com- 
pleted in  1908,  is  on  the  North  Side  and  consists  of  two 
parts.  One  branch  runs  from  a  point  north  of  Howard 
avenue,  southerly  to  Lawrence  avenue,  and  the  other  be- 
gins at  Diversey  boulevard  and  runs  northerly  to  Law- 
rence avenue,  where  it  joins  the  first.  The  two  branches 
are  united  in  a  i6-foot  conduit  through  which  the  sewage 
is  pumped  to  the  North  Branch  of  the  Chicago  River,  at 
Lawrence  avenue.  This  pumping  station  also  takes  water 
from  the  lake  and  discharges  it  with  the  sewage  into  the 
river.  The  capacity  of  the  pumps  is  40,000  cubic  feet  per 
minute. 

The  southern  intercepting  sewer  system  was  prac- 
tically completed  in  1906.  It  extends  from  37th  street 
to  39th  street,  where  the  sewage  is  picked  up  by  pumps 
and  forced,  with  a  considerable  amount  of  lake  water, 
through  a  conduit  20  feet  in  diameter,  in  a  westerly  direc- 
tion to  the  east  arm  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Chicago  River,  commonly  known  as 
"Bubbly  Creek."  The  capacity  of  the  pumps  is  120,000 
cubic  feet  per  minute. 

Other  sewers  north  of  3ist  street,  which  formerly  dis- 
charged into  the  lake  have  been  diverted  directly  into  the 


90  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

Chicago  River.  The  intention  has  been  that  no  sewage 
shall  be  discharged  into  Lake  Michigan  from  the  northern 
limits  of  the  Sanitary  District  to  the  mouth  of  the  Calu- 
met River,  a  distance  of  over  thirty  miles,  and  this  object 
has  been  accomplished. 

As  a  means  of  diverting  sewage  from  the  lake  and 
supplying  diluting  water  for  its  purification,  a  channel 
was  built  from  the  village  of  Wilmette,  north  of  Evanston, 
to  the  North  Branch  of  the  Chicago  River,  a  little  north  of 
Lawrence  avenue.  This  is  the  North  Shore  Channel, 
which  was  completed  in  1911,  at  a  cost  of  $1,600,000  for 
construction,  and  $1,170,000  for  the  right  of  way,  a  pump- 
ing station  and  engineering  and  other  expenses,  making 
the  total  cost  about  $2,770,000,  according  to  the  Sanitary 
District's  figures. 

The  North  Shore  Channel  is  8^g  miles  long,  75  feet 
wide  at  the  surface  and  13^  feet  deep.  It  is  navigable  by 
boats  bound  between  the  North  Branch  and  the  lake.  The 
pumps  are  built  after  the  plan  of  those  which  were  in- 
stalled in  connection  with  the  Fullerton  Avenue  Conduit, 
and  have  a  designed  capacity  of  15,000  cubic  feet  per 
minute. 

20.— REVIEW    OF    THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF    CHICAGO'S 
SCHEME  OF  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL. 

The  history  of  sewage  disposal  in  Chicago  shows  that 
the  method  now  followed  is  the  outcome  of  a  practice 
which  was  begun  more  than  seventy-five  years  ago,  when 
the  city  was  a  small  place  and  the  volume  of  its  sewage 
was  relatively  insignificant. 

The  disposal  of  the  sewage  was  recognized  as  a  se- 
rious problem  as  soon  as  the  city  had  any  sewage  to  dis- 
pose of.  The  question  of  water  supply,  apart  from  that 
of  sewage  disposal,  seems  never  to  have'  been  considered 
difficult;  it  has  always  been  considered  that  water  in  un- 
limited volume  and  of  acceptable  quality  could  be  obtained 
from  the  lake,  if  only  the  sewage  could  be  kept  out  of  it. 

For  many  years  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  sewage 
away  from  the  drinking  water  was  not  recognized.  This 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL  91 

lesson  was  learned  at  the  cost  of  much  suffering  and  death. 
The  sewerage  system,  representing  the  best  thought  of 
the  time,  was  designed  to  discharge  into  the  river  with  full 
knowledge  that  it  would  flow  thence  to  the  lake.  Nobody 
supposed  that  it  would  injure  the  drinking  water.  It  was 
many  years  before  Chicago  found  that  it  was  poisoning  its 
water  supply. 

The  idea  of  sending  all  the  sewage  to  the  Illinois 
River  instead  of  allowing  it  to  flow  to  the  lake,  arose  from 
the  fact  that  the  Chicago  River  had  little  current  and  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  as  originally  built,  was  seen 
to  be  carrying  a  good  deal  of  the  filth  away.  Later,  the 
intolerable  stench  which  arose  from  the  Chicago  River  and 
the  fear  of  disease  which  was  aroused  by  the  foul  condi- 
tions, caused  the  authorities  to  call  upon  the  canal  for 
more  and  more  relief,  and  its  capacity  was  increased  on 
two  occasions.  The  canal  afforded  a  ready  outlet,  only  it 
was  not  big  enough. 

Once  embarked  upon  the  policy  of  cleansing  the  Chi- 
cago River  by  causing  its  sewage  and  water  mixture  to 
flow  toward  the  Mississippi,  the  development  of  the  dis- 
posal system  into  what  it  is  today  was  perfectly  logical 
and  consistent.  The  scheme  is  the  same  in  principle  as  it 
has  always  been.  There  are  no  works  of  purification.  The 
sewage  is  all  dumped  in  crude  condition  and  by  the  most 
convenient  route  directly  into  the  river  to  be  disposed  of 
by  the  beneficent  forces  of  nature  in  such  places  and  at 
such  times  as  those  forces  are  able  to  operate.  Beyond 
supplying  all  the  water  possible,  no  attempt  is  made  to  aid 
or  control  these  forces;  they  and  their  manner  of  working 
are  not  understood.  In  order  that  there  shall  not  be  too 
great  a  nuisance  in  the  city,  and  to  prevent  the  poisoning 
of  the  drinking  water,  the  river  is  led  off  to  the  Illinois 
Valley.  Chicago's  way  of  getting  rid  of  her  sewage  has 
been  well  described  by  a  prominent  engineer,  long  con- 
nected with  the  Drainage  Channel  proposition,  as  "dis- 
posal through  the  back  lots." 


Part  V 
WHAT  BECOMES  OF  THE  SEWAGE 

1.— PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  CHICAGO  RIVER  AND 
SANITARY  AND  SHIP  CANAL. 

The  condition  of  the  Chicago  River  was  inspected  by 
the  Board  of  Experts  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board 
at  various  times  during  the  last  two  weeks  in  April,  1914. 
By  invitation  of  the  Sanitary  District,  a  trip  was  taken 
from  Lake  Michigan  through  the  Chicago  River  and 
Drainage  Channel  to  Lockport.  Three  more  days  were 
spent  along  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers,  many 
points  being  visited  between  Joliet  and  Henry,  about  125 
miles  from  Lake  Michigan. 

At  the  time  of  the  inspections,  the  water  of  Lake 
Michigan,  as  it  entered  the  Chicago  River,  was  soapy  in 
appearance  and  of  a  light,  olive  color;  it  looked  not  unlike 
sewage,  except  for  the  absence  of  characteristic  solid  in- 
gredients. The  turbidity  was  probably  somewhat  in  ex- 
cess of  100.  There  was  no  way  of  knowing  the  amount  of 
impurities  present;  but  it  may  be  assumed  that  there  was 
nothing  about  the  water  as  it  entered  the  river  from  the 
lake  which  rendered  it  less  suitable  than  usual  for  the  dilu- 
tion and  purification  of  the  sewage.  The  turbidity,  which 
was  above  the  average,  owing  to  recent  storms,  aided  dis- 
posal, since  it  caused  the  sewage  solids  to  disappear  more 
quickly  than  was  common. 

Proceeding  from  the  lake  through  the  river  toward 
the  Drainage  Channel,  the  first  large  sewer  outfall  noticed 
was  at  the  foot  of  Michigan  avenue,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  The  discharge  discolored  the  water  for  a  distance 
of  about  200  feet.  All  the  principal  outfalls  discolored 
the  water.  Little  attempt  had  been  made  to  hide  the' 

92 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF  THE   SEWAGE  93 

mouths  of  the  sewers.  The  river  was  frankly  an  open 
sewer  and  a  commercial  canal.  No  effort  had  been  made 
to  render  it  attractive,  and  it  was  not  so  in  any  sense. 

Apparently  nearly  all  the  sewers  discharged  at  the 
bulkhead  line  and  at,  or  near,  the  surface  of  the  stream. 
Some  sewage  solids  were  usually  seen  near  the  points  of 
discharge,  and  there  were  eddies  where  considerable 
masses  accumulated.  The  river  was  carrying  along  most 
of  its  great  load  of  sewage  beneath  the  surface,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  hidden  from  casual  notice  by  the  turbid 
lake  water.  On  looking  carefully  into  the  water,  bits  of 
paper,  excrement  and  other  solid  matter  could  be  seen  in 
some  quantity. 

Where  the  currents  are  not  sufficiently  rapid  to  keep 
the  solids  moving,  deposits  take  place  and  these  ferment, 
giving  off  gases  which  rise  in  bubbles  to  the  surface.  In 
disengaging  themselves  from  the  material  in  which  they 
are  formed,  the  bubbles  cause  eruptions  in  the  deposits, 
with  the  result  that  the  black  sewage  mud  is  raised  and  be- 
comes diffused  through  the  overlying  water.  The  evolu- 
tion of  gas,  and  consequent  blackening  and  production  of 
offensive  odors,  vary  greatly.  In  the  least  noticeable  cases, 
the  bubbling  is  scarcely  perceptible;  in  the  worse,  the 
eruptions  are  several  feet  in  diameter  and  the  air  smells 
badly  for  a  distance  of  several  hundred  feet.  Where  fer- 
mentation is  preceding  actively,  the  water  is  in  a  state  of 
ebulition,  the  surface  looking  much  as  it  does  at  times  of 
rain.  The  water  is  then  black  throughout.  In  some  of  the 
most  stagnant  places,  a  scum  forms  upon  the  surface  of  a 
thickness  and  consistency  which  is  sufficient  to  permit 
small  domestic  animals  to  walk  upon  it.  All  stages  and 
degrees  of  fermentation  exist  in  Chicago's  waterways. 

At  the  end  of  April,  a  small  amount  of  effervescence 
was  noticeable  at  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South 
Branches,  in  many  of  the  long  slips  and  other  quiet  parts 
of  the  main  channel  from  the  lake  to  the  Drainage  Canal ; 
considerably  more  was  noticed  in  the  turning  basins. 

In  the  North,  South  and  West  Branches,  all  the  evi- 
dences of  excessive  pollution  were  apparent.  It  was  sur- 


94  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

prising  to  note  how  great  was  the  area  and  extent  of  these 
nuisances  and  the  indifference  with  which  they  were  re- 
garded. For  years  the  west  arm  of  the  South  Fork  has 
been  described  as  a  "seething  mass  of  septic  sewage"  with- 
out there  ever  having  been  any  serious  attempt  to  improve 
it.  This  is  "Bubbly  Creek,"  the  "Valley  of  Death,"  a 
stagnant  and  malodorous  ditch,  than  which  there  is  prob- 
ably no  greater  evidence  of  sanitary  neglect  in  any  city. 
Other  festering  pools,  but  of  less  extent,  have  long  ex- 
isted. 

Once  the  water  and  sewage  mixture  leaves  the  main 
channel  of  the  Chicago  River  and  enters  the  Drainage 
Channel,  there  is  little  visible  change  in  the  appearance  of 
the  stream,  until  it  approaches  the  works  at  Lockport, 
where  the  flow  is  regulated.  At  the  time  of  the  inspec- 
tions noted  in  this  report,  the  water  was  of  the  same  soapy, 
olive,  turbid  hue  which  had  been  noted  at  the  lake,  only 
it  was  darker.  In  the  Drainage  Canal  there  was  a  notable 
absence  of  sewage  solids  at  the  surface,  but  there  were 
some  deposits  at  the  bottom. 

There  was  some  discoloration  along  the  sides  of  the 
Canal.  The  light,  limestone  rock  and  gravel  shores  were 
in  places  conspicuously  marked  by  brown  and  black,  show- 
ing that  variations  of  several  feet  had  occurred  in  the 
level. 

Some  samples  of  the  water  and  sewage  mixture  were 
analyzed  for  dissolved  oxygen,  and  found  to  contain  7.2 
parts  per  million.  Had  the  water  contained  its  normal 
amount,  there  would  have  been  11.3  parts.  The  oxygen 
had,  therefore,  been  about  one-third  depleted.  In  a  bottle, 
the  water  had  a  distinctly  foul  odor.  Odors  from  the  canal 
were  noticeable  on  the  upper  deck  of  the  boat,  whenever 
there  was  a  lull  in  the  strong  cool  wind  which  was  blow- 
ing. 

Extensive  deposits  occur  in  the  Drainage  Channel 
for  about  two  miles  above  the  controlling  works  at  Lock- 
port.  These  ferment  and  give  off  large  quantities  of  gas. 
At  the  time  of  the  inspections,  there  were  2.6  parts  per^ 
million  of  dissolved  oxygen  in  the  water  as  it  flowed  over 


WHAT   BECOMES   OF   THE   SEWAGE  95 

the  weir  which  regulates  the  flow  through  the  Drainage 
Channel.  The  oxygen  had  been  reduced  to  less  than  l/±  °f 
its  normal  amount  in  passing  from  the  lake  to  the  end  of 
the  Canal.  Some  white  paint  which  had  been  put  upon 
one  of  the  buildings  had  been  turned  black  by  the  foul 
gases. 

2.— CONDITION    OF    THE    DESPLAINES    AND    ILLINOIS 

RIVERS. 

By  sending  the  filth  which  formerly  stagnated  in  the 
Chicago  River  down  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers, 
this  nuisance-producing  material  has  been  transferred 
from  one  place  to  another,  but  it  has  not  been  disposed  of 
in  the  sanitary  sense. 

The  Chicago  River  has  been  improved,  but  in  place  of 
the  foulness  which  once  existed  in  it,  there  flows,  for  one 
hundred  miles,  through  the  Illinois  Valley  a  discolored, 
unwholesome  and  offensive  stream.  The  valley  is  natur- 
ally beautiful,  fertile  and  populous.  Prosperous  cities 
and  well  ordered  villages  are  located  in  it.  But  the  chief 
advantage  which  their  situation  near  the  stream  affords 
apparently  lies  in  the  water  power  which  is  here  and  there 
available. 

For  over  one  hundred  miles  from  Chicago,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  valley  seem  to  have  relinquished  the  most 
valuable  rights  of  riparian  owners.  The  water  is  not  fit 
to  drink,  nor  to  wash  in,  nor  to  water  stock  in,  nor  for  the 
many  other  domestic  and  industrial  uses  of  a  normal  river. 
Fish  die  in  it ;  the  thought  of  swimming  in  it  is  repugnant 
to  the  senses;  boating,  far  from  being  a  pleasant  and 
healthful  diversion,  can  be  enjoyed  only  by  the  hardy. 
The  stream  flows  with  the  majestic  sweep  of  all  great 
rivers  and  the  banks  are  overhung  with  rich,  luxurious 
foliage;  but  the  water  is  discolored,  malodorous,  poison- 
ous. Fine  black  organic  sewage  mud  covers  the  bottom 
and  deposits  on  the  shores  when  the  river  overflows  its 
banks. 

Thousands  of  tons  of  organic  matter,  most  of  it  in  an 
offensive  state  of  decomposition,  are  thrown  into  the  Chi- 


96  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

cago  River  every  twenty-four  hours.  Every  conceivable 
kind  of  filthy  thing  that  can  be  flushed  away  by  water 
from  the  streets,  houses  and  persons  of  the  sick  and  well 
in  a  population  of  2,500,000  inhabitants,  not  to  mention 
the  excrement  of  a  hundred  thousand  hogs  and  head  of 
cattle  and  horses  and  mules,  is  cast  down  into  the  valley 
every  day. 

The  precise  amount  or  quality  of  these  foul  wastes 
has  not  been  determined,  but  it  is  not  necessary  that  it 
should  be  in  order  to  form  some  idea  of  the  burden  of 
pollution  which  is  put  upon  these  waters.  It  can  be  esti- 
mated in  various  ways.  According  to  the  researches  of 
the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Commission  of  New  York, 
which  made  careful  studies  of  the  digestion  of  sewage  in 
New  York  Harbor,  the  sewage  solids  are  derived  from 
feces,  toilet  paper  and  newspaper,  soap  and  washings, 
street  wastes  (consisting  largely  of  feces  and  urine  and 
an  infinite  number  of  comminuted  solid  matters),  amount- 
ing to  about  45  tons  per  1,000  inhabitants  per  year,  these 
materials  being  reckoned  as  existing  in  a  dry  state.  As- 
suming that  90  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chicago 
are  connected  with  the  sewers,  it  appears  that  nearly  100,- 
ooo  tons  of  this  material  are  discharged  into  the  Chicago 
waterways  every  year. 

The  weight  of  feces  and  urine  discharged  each  day 
by  that  part  of  the  population  of  Chicago  which  was  con- 
nected with  the  sewers  immediately  preceding  the  open- 
ing of  the  Drainage  Channel,  was  estimated  by  Professor 
A.  W.  Palmer,  of  the  University  of  Illinois,  to  be  127  tons, 
reckoned  as  existing  in  the  dry  state.  Of  this,  104.8  tons 
was  organic  matter,  containing  20.5  tons  of  nitrogen.* 
The  population  contributing  this  material  was  1,310,700. 
According  to  Mr.  G.  M.  Wisner,f  the  population  draining 
to  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  from  the  Sanitary  District 
was  2,167,903  in  1910.  On  Prof.  Palmer's  basis  there  must 


*The  Pollution  and  Self-Purification  of  the  Water  of  the  Illinois  River, 
Chemical  Survey  of  the  Waters  of  Illinois  River,  Report  for  the  years  1897-1902, 
Appendix,  p.  x. 

fReport  on  Sewage  Disposal,  1911,  p.  16. 


WHAT   BECOMES   OF   THE   SEWAGE  97 

now  be  over  35  tons  of  nitrogen  cast  into  the  valley  every 
day. 

The  condition  of  the  stream  from  Chicago  down 
through  the  Canal  and  Desplaines  and  Illinois  River  Val- 
leys, to  and  beyond  Ottawa,  has  been  described  by  Mr. 
Paul  Hansen,  Engineer,  Illinois  State  Water  Survey,  in  a 
paper  read  before  the  American  Public  Health  Association 
in  September,  1913.* 

"The  conditions  in  the  drainage  canal  proper  are  not  es- 
pecially foul,  nor  is  the  odor  in  the  vicinity  of  the  canal  marked, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  organic  matter  is  still  in  a 
fresh  and  undecomposed  condition.  An  exception  to  this  oc- 
curs in  hot  weather  when  ebulition  takes  place  in  the  sludge 
deposits  in  the  bottom  of  the  canal  and  causes  large  quanti- 
ties of  this  foul  sludge  to  rise  to  the  surface.  These  com- 
paratively unobjectionable  conditions  persist  until  Lockport  is 
reached,  thirty-five  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  river 
at  Chicago.  Upon  entering  the  Lower  Desplaines  river,  the 
water  and  sewage  from  the  canal  are  joined  by  the  somewhat 
highly  polluted  water  of  the  Upper  Desplaines.  A  change  in 
the  character  of  the  water  then  takes  place,  due  to  the  onset 
of  putrefactive  conditions.  The  liquid  grows  darker  and  dis- 
agreeable odors  are  more  pronounced.  The  putrefactive  pro- 
cesses continue  and  reach  their  culmination  at  some  point  be- 
tween Morris,  62  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  river, 
and  the  Marseilles  dam,  80  miles  below.  The  point  of  worst 
condition  varies  with  the  stream  flow  and  the  season  of  the 
year,  generally  being  farthest  up  stream  in  the  winter  and 
farthest  down  in  the  summer.  Within  this  distance,  the  water 
of  the  river  is  likely  to  have  a  characteristic  grayish  color  and 
is  totally  devoid  of  all  life  except  those  organisms  which  flour- 
ish under  putrefactive  conditions.  Most  prominent  among 
these  are  sphaerotilus  natans  and  carchesium  lachmanni.  Be- 
low the  Marseilles  dam  the  water  of  the  stream  begins  to  re- 
cover from  its  sick  condition  and  this  recovery  is,  no  doubt, 
given  an  impetus  by  the  marked  aeration  that  occurs  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  flow  over  the  dam.  A  normal  appearance,  however, 
does  not  occur  in  the  summer  time  until  Hennepin  is  reached, 
116  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  river.  Here  the 
grayish  color  has  disappeared  and  is  replaced  in  the  summer 
time,  at  any  rate,  by  a  characteristic  greenish  hue  indicative 
of  the  presence  of  chlorophyl-bearing  organisms." 

*Amer.  Journal  of  Public  Health,  Vol.  IV,  No.  10,  pp.  35-6. 


98  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

The  state  of  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers  with 
respect  to  pollution  produced  a  strong  impression  on  the 
Sanitary  Experts  of  the  Real  Estate  Board.  On  the  days 
when  the  inspections  were  made,  the  water  was  offen- 
sively polluted  with  sewage  as  far  as  Ottawa — eighty-five 
miles  from  Lake  Michigan.  Wherever  bridges  crossed 
the  stream,  it  was  possible  to  see  unmistakable  evidences 
of  the  sewage.  Odors  were  noticeable,  grease  lay  upon 
the  surface  of  the  river,  dead  fish  were  numerous,  and 
large  quantities  of  sewage  fungus  were  observable  in  the 
water.  Disagreeable  odors  were  noticeable  at  a  distance 
of  nearly  one-quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  Marseilles  dam. 
Above  this  point  animal  and  vegetable  forms  which  are 
natural  to  a  normal  river  are  absent.  Through  the  whole 
course  of  the  stream  from  Chicago  to  and  below  Ottawa, 
gulls  were  seen  feeding  on  the  solid  refuse  which  the  sew- 
age brought  down. 

3.— INVESTIGATIONS  OF  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF 

HEALTH. 

The  attitude  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  Illinois 
toward  the  discharge  of  Chicago's  sewage  into  the  Illinois 
valley  must  be  carefully  taken  into  consideration  if  a 
proper  understanding  is  to  be  reached  of  Chicago's  great 
sanitary  problem.  To  many  persons  unfamiliar  with  the 
history  of  the  city's  efforts  to  protect  its  water  supply  and 
dispose  of  its  sewage,  it  appears  that  the  State  has  done 
little  to  protect  the  dwellers  in  the  valley  from  a  colossal 
nuisance.  This  is  a  mistake.  The  State  Board  of  Health 
has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  disposal  of  the  sewage, 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  has  ever  been  in- 
different to  the  welfare  of  the  valley. 

At  first  the  attitude  of  the  State  may  have  been  one 
of  indifference,  but  soon  after  the  establishment  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health,  there  seems  to  have  been  an 
anxious  concern  manifested  for  improvement.  The  first 
time  that  the  State  Board  made  a  recommendation  to  the 
city  of  Chicago  in  relation  to  its  sanitary  affairs  was  in 
regard  to  the  disposal  of  the  sewage;  this  occurred  in  the 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF   THE   SEWAGE  99 

second  annual  report,  1879.  Dr.  John  H.  Rauch,  formerly 
Sanitary  Superintendent  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  was  then 
secretary.  The  city  was  urged  to  improve  the  conditions 
then  existing  by  enlarging  the  capacity  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal  by  means  of  pumps,  this  course  appearing 
to  the  Board,  on  the  best  advice  obtainable,  to  be  a  remedy 
which  was  immediately  available,  one  which  would  afford 
all  the  improvement  needed  and  the  solution  which  would 
cost  the  least  sum  of  money.  The  pumps  were  expected 
not  only  to  carry  off  the  sewage  of  the  city  and  so  remove 
the  nuisance  and  danger  of  epidemic  disease,  but  a  secure 
such  a  flow  of  fresh,  diluting  water  from  Lake  Michigan 
as  would  dilute  and  oxidize  the  organic  matters  so  that  no 
further  trouble  would  be  experienced  from  them  in  the 
canal  or  river  system  into  which  they  emptied.  Great  con- 
fidence was  expressed  in  the  capacity  of  the  water  to  as- 
similate the  offensive  materials  which  the  sewage  and  in- 
dustrial refuse  contained. 

The  confidence  which  the  Board  of  Health  felt  in  the 
purifying  capacity  of  water  was  not  held  by  all  the  sani- 
tary experts  of  the  day.  Some  held  the  opinion  that  the 
digestive  capacity  of  water  for  sewage  was  not  great  and 
that  what  appeared  to  be  purification  was  only  sedimenta- 
tion. Specific  instances  were  cited  wherein  too  much  re- 
liance had  been  placed  by  other  cities  upon  the  beneficent 
forces  of  nature  to  bring  about  the  self-purification  of 
streams.  For  example,  in  England,  a  commission  had  re- 
ported in  1865,  after  eight  years  of  study,  that: 

"The  right  way  to  dispose  of  town  sewage  is  to  apply  it 
continuously  to  land,  and  it  is  only  by  such  application  that  the 
pollution  of  rivers  can  be  avoided." 

In  1886,  the  Board  of  Health  of  Illinois  engaged  Prof. 
John  H.  Long  of  the  Department  of  Chemistry  of  North- 
western University,  Chicago,  and  formerly  Chemist  of  the 
City  Department  of  Health,  to  make  an  investigation  of 
the  manner  and  extent  to  which  the  sewage  disappeared. 
Dr.  Long's  studies  were  carried  on  from  1866  to  1889,  most 
of  the  work  being  done  between  May,  1888,  and  March, 
1889.  About  700  samples  were  taken  from  points  along 


100          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers.  A  preliminary  report 
was  printed  in  1889.  A  full  report,  which  was  made  later, 
appears  to  have  been  lost  without  ever  having  been  pub- 
lished or  a  copy  preserved. 

After  the  opening  of  the  Drainage  and  Ship  Canal 
in  1900,  it  was  considered  desirable  to  make  additional  in- 
vestigations, particularly  with  the  object  of  determining 
the  effect  of  the  new  waterway  on  the  Illinois  and  Missis- 
sippi, and  many  of  the  results  of  Prof.  Long's  earlier 
studies  were  published,  with  the  reports  of  others,  by  the 
State  Board  of  Health*  and  elsewhere.  An  effort  was 
doubtless  made  to  give  the  work  a  broad  scope  and  to 
conduct  it  in  an  unprejudiced  manner,  but  it  must  be  noted 
that  the  point  of  view  in  the  later  investigations  was  to 
afford  information  which  would  show  that  the  sewage  of 
Chicago  was  not  polluting  the  water  supply  of  St.  Louis, 
which  was  drawn  from  the  Mississippi.  The  effect  of 
Chicago's  sewage  on  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Illinois  Valley  was  not,  apparently,  regarded 
as  calling  for  special  consideration  and  the  State  Depart- 
ment of  Health  seems  not  to  have  investigated  it  at  this 
time. 

Prof.  Long's  report  does  not  afford  data  from  which 
a  strict  comparison  of  the  conditions  in  the  vjalley  before 
and  after  the  Drainage  Canal  was  opened  can  be  made, 
irregularities  in  the  operation  of  the  Drainage  Canal  and 
Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  differences  in  weather  condi- 
tions and  other  factors  interfering  seriously  with  the  re- 
sults. Nevertheless,  the  report  is  of  considerable  service 
in  affording  information  as  to  the  self-purification  of  the 
Illinois  River  and  the  possible  effects  of  the  sewage  of  Chi- 
cago on  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi. 

4.— RESULTS    OF    PROF.    LONG'S    INVESTIGATIONS    OF 
THE  ILLINOIS  RIVER. 

Among  the  most  important  pieces  of  information 
brought  out  by  Dr.  Long's  work  were  the  following: 

There  was  a  marked  improvement  in  the  quality  of 

*Report  of  the  Sanitary  Investigation  of  the  Illinois  River  and  its  Tribu- 
taries ;  Illinois  State  Board  of  Health,  1901. 


WHAT   BECOMES  ,  OF   rHE^SfrtfAtt  101 


the  water  from  the  Illinois  as  it  flowed  toward  the  Missis- 
sippi, apart  from  the  changes  which  occurred  through 
sedimentation  and  dilution.  The  improvement  was  largely 
dependent  on  temperature,  the  winter  rate  being  much 
slower  than  the  summer  rate.  But  little  purification  took 
place  between  Bridgeport  and  Joliet,  33  miles  below.  In 
fact,  the  figures  for  albuminoid  ammonia  and  free  am- 
monia and  oxygen  consumed  increased  slightly.  Begin- 
ning at  Joliet,  there  was  a  rapid  reduction  in  the  chemical 
evidences  of  pollution  to  Morris,  58  miles  below  Bridge- 
port, and  Ottawa,  81  miles  below  Bridgeport,  where  the 
ammonias  were  reduced  to  one-third  or  one-quarter  of 
their  original  amount.  From  Ottawa  through  Henry. 
125  miles  from  Bridgeport,  to  Peoria,  159  miles  from 
Bridgeport,  there  was  a  slower,  but  no  less  certain,  im- 
provement. At  Peoria,  the  river  was  again  heavily  con- 
taminated by  the  discharge  of  wastes  from  cattle  and  dis- 
tilleries. 

Peoria  cattle  shed  filth  and  not  Chicago  sewage  was 
the  main  factor  in  the  animal  pollution  of  the  lower  river. 
The  Illinois  River  at  its  mouth  was  in  better  organic  con- 
dition than  were  most  of  its  tributaries.  At  Grafton, 
where  the  Illinois  joins  the  Mississippi,  little  more  than 
harmless  salt  remained  to  tell  of  the  enormous  pollution, 
320  miles  above.  The  physical  appearance  of  the  stream 
and  the  extent  of  the  fishing  industry,  aside  from  the 
analytical  results  of  the  investigation,  pointed  clearly  to 
the  improvement  accomplished. 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  the  self-purification  of 
the  water,  took  place,  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the 
views  held  by  Prof.  Long  in  1901  were,  so  far  as  they 
went,  not  far  different  from  the  accepted  theories  of  today. 
He  plainly  recognized  sedimentation  and  fermentation  as 
important;  the  first  in  securing  temporary,  the  second 
permanent,  improvement,  and  he  was  evidently  of  opinion 
that  the  chief  element  in  causing  the  sewage  matters  to 
disappear  was  oxidization. 


102          REPORT  ON ; WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

With  regard  to  the  disappearance  of  the  organic  mat- 
ter, Prof.  Long  says  :* 

"The  main  results  stated  in  my  preliminary  report  are 
confirmed  and  strengthened  by  the  work  subsequently  done. 
It  has  been  shown  that  in  the  stretch  of  the  canal  and  river 
between  Chicago  and  Peoria  a  remarkable  destruction  of  or- 
ganic matter  is  constantly  taking  place,  not  by  sedimentation, 
as  former  critics  of  the  Board  were  anxious  to  believe,  but  by 
organic  oxidation." 

5.— INVESTIGATIONS  BY  THE  STATE  WATER  SURVEY. 

In  1897  the  Illinois  Legislature  passed  an  Act  to  es- 
tablish a  Chemical  Survey  of  the  waters  of  the  State,  and 
in  1902,  a  report  was  made  upon  the  work  which  had  been 
accomplished  to  that  year.  Five-sixths  of  the  volume  of 
243  pages  were  devoted  to  the  chemical  condition  of  the 
Illinois  River  before  and  after  the  opening  of  the  Drainage 
Channel,  the  author  being  Arthur  W.  Palmer,  Professor 
of  Chemistry  in  the  University  of  Illinois. f  A  large  num- 
ber of  analyses  were  made  and  tabulated. 

P'rof.  Palmer's  results  and  opinions  agreed  with  those 
of  Prof.  Long,  already  referred  to.  The  principal  con- 
clusions were  that  in  spite  of  the  sewage  which  w^as  dis- 
charged into  it,  the  Illinois  River  purified  itself  so  that  at 
its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  its  waters  were  more 
suitable  for  drinking  than  were  the  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi itself.  There  was  less  actual  weight  of  organic  mat- 
ter discharged  into  the  Mississippi  by  the  Illinois  after  the 
Drainage  Canal  was  opened  than  there  had  been  before. 
There  were  two  main  sources  of  pollution  of  the  Illinois: 
Chicago  and  the  Peoria-Pekin  region.  So  far  as  the  self- 
purification  of  the  Upper  Illinois  was  concerned,  there  was 
a  great  deal  of  improvement  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Morris,  but  the  water  did  not  resume  its  natural  state  until 
it  reached  the  vicinity  of  Averyville,  98  miles  below 
Bridgeport.  That  this  improvement  was  not  the  result  of 
mere  dilution  was  shown  by  calculations  based  on  the 

*Illionis  State  Board  of  Health  Report,  1901,  p.  76. 

fThe  Pollution  and  Self-Purification  of  the  Waters  of  the  Illinois  River, 
Chemical  Survey  of  the  Waters  of  Illinois,  1897-1902,  pp.  62-240. 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF  THE   SEWAGE  103 

chlorine  and  the  nitrogenous  organic  matter,  free  am- 
monia and  nitrates.  Between  Averyville  and  La  Salle,  a 
distance  of  60  miles,  probably  the  last  of  the  organic  mat- 
ter was  destroyed.  Large  quantities  of  plankton  were  to 
be  found  in  this  stretch  of  the  river. 

Prof.  Palmer  reported  the  average  result  of  141  deter- 
minations of  the  dissolved  oxygen  which  he  found,  but  as 
he  failed  to  state  at  what  points  in  the  river  they  were 
taken,  they  are  useless  in  the  present  inquiry. 

Data  on  the  dissolved  oxygen  in  the  water  of  the  Illi- 
nois River  in  midsummer  and  later  winter  were  obtained 
by  the  State  Water  Survey  in  1911  and  1912.*  The  an- 
alyses were  not  numerous  and  refer  to  a  long  stretch  of 
the  river. 

In  July  and  August,  1911,  the  dissolved  oxygen  fell 
rapidly  from  the  head  of  the  Illinois  River  to  Morris, 
where  it  was  about  1.5  parts  per  million.  Proceeding 
down  the  river,  there  was  a  further  decline  to  the  Mar- 
seilles Dam,  where  there  was  only  .5  part  per  million,  fol- 
lowed by  a  gradual  rise  to  Starved  Rock  and  Chillicothe, 
where  there  were  4.2  parts. 

In  February,  1912,  the  lowest  point  reached  was 
above  the  Marseilles  Dam,  where  there  were  6.3  and  8.8 
parts  per  million.  In  March,  1912,  there  was  a  gradual 
rise  in  the  dissolved  oxygen  from  the  outlet  of  the  Drain- 
age Canal  to  Morris,  where  it  was  about  10,  followed  by  a 
slow  decline  to  Peoria. 

These  analyses,  so  far  as  they  go,  show  that  the  sew- 
age and  water  mixture  is  assimilated  much  more  slowly  in 
winter  than  in  summer,  in  consequence  of  which  the  point 
where  the  river  resumes  a  wholesome  condition  is  not  al- 
ways the  same. 

In  1913  the  composition  of  the  sludge  in  the  Drainage 
Canal  and  the  Upper  Illinois  River  was  analyzed  by  the 
Illinois  State  Water  Surveyf  and  found  to  resemble  sew- 

*Effect  of  Chicago  Sewage  on  the  Illinois  River,  Illinois  State  Water  Survey, 
Bulletin  10,  June  2,  1913,  pp.  30-39. 

fThe  Composition  of  Sludge  and  Bottom  Deposits  of  the  Illinois  River, 
Report  of  the  Chemical  and  Biological  Survey  of  the  Waters  of  Illinois,  1913, 
p.  155. 


104          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

age  sludge.  Marked  improvement  occurred  between  Mar- 
seilles and  Henry;  below  Peoria,  the  sediment  seemed  to 
be  that  of  a  normal  and  relatively  unpolluted  stream.  The 
samples  were  collected  between  March  i8th  and  April 
5th,  1913.  Samples  collected  at  various  points  as  far  as 
Chillicothe  were  described  as  having  a  disagreeable,  fecal 
odor. 

The  composition  of  the  gases  arising  from  the  Illinois 
River  in  the  summer  of  1911  was  determined  by  R.  H. 
Jesse  as  a  part  of  an  interesting  research  for  the  State 
Water  Survey.*  Samples  were  taken  at  Morris  and  above 
the  dam  at  Marseilles. 

The  bulk  of  the  gas  was  carbon  dioxide,  methane  and 
oxygen.  In  one  case  the  nitrogen  amounted  to  25.24  per 
cent.,  but  this  was  far  above  the  average.  This  large 
amount  of  nitrogen  occurred  at  Henry.  The  carbon  diox- 
ide usually  ranged  between  about  12  and  24  per  cent,  and 
the  methane  between  73  and  83  per  cent.  Sometimes  a 
fraction  of  one  per  cent  of  oxygen  was  found,  and,  with  a 
single  exception,  there  was  a  small  amount  of  an  unknown 
gas  absorbed  by  cuprous  chloride  in  all  the  samples: 

Commenting  on  the  results  of  his  analyses  of  the  Illi- 
nois River  gases,  Jesse  says  (p.  54)  : 

"In  order  to  compare  these  gases  with  those  from  stagnant 
pools,  which  are  not  polluted  with  sewage,  there  is.  given  an 
analysis  of  a  gas  sample  collected  from  Mazon  creek,  which 
enters  the  Illinois  river  near  Morris.  The  difference  between 
this  gas  and  those  from  the  Illinois  river  is  as  striking  as  is 
the  similarity  between  the  latter  and  the  gases  from  septic 
tanks." 

6.—INVESTIGATIONS  OF  THE  STATE  LABORATORY  OF 
NATURAL  HISTORY. 

Exhaustive  biological  investigations  of  the  Illinois, 
begun  in  1877,  have  been  made  by  the  State  Laboratory  of 
Natural  History  and  valuable  monographs  have  appeared 
on  the  subject  by  Dr.  Stephen  A.  Forbes,  Director,  Dr.  C. 
A.  Kofoid  and  others,  on  the  forms  of  life  which  exist  in 


*Insoluble  Gases  Formed  by  the  Decomposition  of  Organic  Matters,  Re- 
port of  the  Chemical  and  Biological  Survey  of  the  Waters  of  Illinois,  1911, 
pp.  47-61. 


WHAT   BECOMES   OF   THE   SEWAGE  105 

the  water  at  different  points  between  Lockport  and  the 
Mississippi.  Of  special  value  are  Dr.  Kofoid's  two 
volumes  on  his  quantitative  investigations  and  general  re- 
sults and  the  constituent  organisms  and  their  seasonal 
distribution,  brought  out  in  1903  and  1908,  respectively. 
In  a  recent  Bulletin*  of  the  Laboratory,  Dr.  Forbes  and 
Mr.  R.  E.  Richardson  have  thrown  such  an  interesting 
light  on  the  self-purification  of  the  Illinois  as  it  exists 
today  that  it  seems  desirable  to  mention  some  of  their 
more  important  facts  here.  These  observations  were 
made  chiefly  in  1911  and  1912. 

A  large  part  of  the  work  related  to  the  minute  animal 
and  plant  life  of  the  stream — the  so-called  plankton— 
which  forms  a  considerable  part  of  the  food  of  many  kinds 
of  fishes  and  nearly  all  the  food  of  the  young  of  almost 
every  kind.  Distinction  was  easily  made  between  the  or- 
ganisms which  found  their  most  congenial  habitat  in  (i) 
septic,  (2)  polluted,  (3)  contaminated,  and  (4)  clean 
water  conditions. 

The  Drainage  Canal  was  described  as  visibly  polluted 
with  sewage  solids  and  of  a  sewage  odor,  not  particularly 
offensive,  in  fall  weather.  The  dissolved  oxygen  was 
nearly,  but  not  entirely,  depleted.  Many  fishes,  evidently 
from  Lake  Michigan,  were  dead  along  the  banks.  The 
minute  forms  of  life  were  such  as  belonged  in  a  septic  and 
polluted  environment. 

The  Desplaines  River  at  Lockport  was  more  offen- 
sively polluted  than  the  Drainage  Canal  itself.  The  water 
had  a  grayish  look  and  a  filthy  smell  which  was  described 
as  a  mixture  of  fishy  and  privy  odors.  Septic  forms  of  life 
existed  and  no  fish  were  found  except  in  cold  weather, 
when  the  conditions  were  less  offensive. 

The  Desplaines  at  Dresden  Heights,  about  50  miles 
below  Chicago,  near  the  junction  with  the  Kankakee,  in 
summer  supported  only  typically  septic  forms  of  life.  The 
water  had  a  grayish,  sloppy  appearance  with  a  mingled 
fish  and  privy  odor.  Sticks  and  stones  were  festooned 

*Bulletin    of    the    Illinois    State    Laboratory    of    Natural    History,    Urbana. 
Illinois,  U.  S.  A.,  Vol.  IX,  June,  1913  Article  X. 


106          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

with  tufts  of  organisms  of  putrefaction  which,  in  order  to 
avoid  scientific  terms,  may  be  called  sewage  fungi.  No 
fishes  were  found,  but  many  shells  of  dead  molluscs  were 
seen.  Only  at  the  edges  was  there  enough  oxygen  to  sup- 
ply the  needs  of  any  of  the  forms  of  life  originally  natural 
to  the  stream. 

The  Kankakee  was  found  to  be  supersaturated  with 
oxygen,  even  in  summer,  and  its  biological  conditions 
were  those  of  clean  streams — no  blue-green  algae,  no 
fixed  forms  of  protozoa,  and  no  septic  fungus.  Green 
algae,  many  river  mussels  and  several  .kinds  of  water 
snails  were  among  the  clean  water  forms. 

At  Morris,  about  60  miles  from  Chicago,  and  below 
Morris,  the  decomposition  of  the  organic  matter  reached 
its  height.  The  water  was  grayish  and  continuously  foul, 
with  a  distinct  privy  smell  in  the  hottest  weather.  Bub- 
bles of  gas  were  continuously  breaking  at  the  surface.  On 
the  warmest  days,  putrescent  masses  of  soft,  grayish- 
black,  mucky  matter,  from  the  diameter  of  a  walnut  to 
that  of  a  milkpan,  were  floating  on  the  surface.  In  mid- 
summer, the  oxygen  in  midstream  was  .27  part  per  mil- 
lion, corresponding  to  3.1  per  cent,  of  saturation.  The  ani- 
mals and  plants  were  of  the  kind  which  reguire  septic  and 
contaminated  habitats.  Every  stick  and  grass  blade  along 
the  edge  of  the  main  stream  was  tufted  with  the  sewage 
fungus.  No  fishes  were  seen  or  heard  of  in  the  summer, 
except  in  the  tributaries.  The  bottom  sludge  was  charac- 
terized by  a  virtual  absence  of  oxygen,  a  large  amount  of 
carbon  dioxide,  and  a  predominance  of  marsh  gas.  Sludge 
worms  were  abundant. 

The  autumn  conditions  were  better  at  Morris  and  in 
winter  the  odors  were  those  of  undecayed  human  feces  in 
place  of  the  ranker  smell  noticeable  in  the  warmer 
weather.  Decomposition  being  much  slower  in  winter 
than  in  summer,  the  dissolved  oxygen  figure  was  higher. 

In  the  midsummer  of  1911,  the  water  above  the  Mar- 
seilles Dam,  which  is  about  75  miles  from  Chicago,  had  a 
grayish  look  and  a  disagreeable  odor,  but  held  much  less 
material  in  suspension  than  at  Morris.  Active  decomposi- 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF  THE   SEWAGE  107 

tion  was  prevailing.  The  biological  collections  were  like 
those  at  Morris,  except  that  there  was  less  sewage  fungus 
and  some  forms  of  insect  larvae,  crawfishes,  mollusks, 
and  other  clean  water  animals  near  the  shores.  No  trace 
of  fishes  were  found  above  the  Marseilles  Dam  in  the 
summer  of  1911  and  but  few  in  the  winter  and  the  stom- 
achs of  those  which  were  caught  were  empty. 

The  effect  on  the  water  in  passing  over  the  Marseilles 
Dam  and  rapids  below  was  to  cause  the  water  to  absorb 
oxygen  and  to  pulverize  a  great  deal  of  the  organic  mat- 
ter, and  the  still  water  above  the  dam  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity for  much  of  the  suspended  matter  to  settle  out. 
The  microplankton  was  about  20  per  cent,  less  abundant 
below  than  a  mile  or  so  above  the  dam  and  chiefly  of  the 
same  kinds.  Mollusks  were  not  only  living  but  breeding 
below  the  dam  and  crustaceans  were  taken.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1911,  the  ratio  of  dissolved  oxygen  was  three  times 
as  high  below  the  dam  as  above  it. 

In  the  summer  of  1912,  the  water  at  Ottawa,  about  81 
miles  from  Chicago,  had  a  distinct  sewage  odor  somewhat 
less  noticeable  than  that  at  Marseilles.  The  river  sludge 
did  not  differ  materially  from  that  above  the  dam,  either 
in  sensible  character  or  in  the  organisms  which  it  con- 
tained. The  characteristic  foul-water  fungi  were  less 
abundant  than  at  Marseilles.  The  same  blue-green  algae, 
characteristic  of  polluted  water,  were  found.  There  were 
no  sponges,  hydroids,  or  planarians,  such  as  are  found  in 
clean  water.  The  lessening  of  contaminate  forms  was 
shown  by  the  occurrence  of  small  numbers  of  various  in- 
sect larvae,  including  dragon-flies,  May-flies  and  sand- 
flies.  No  mussels  could  be  discovered.  Fishes  were  found 
to  some  extent,  including  carp,  bullheads,  minnows  and 
shiners. 

The  odor  at  Starved  Rock,  about  90  miles  from  Chi- 
cago, in  August,  1911,  and  September  and  October,  1912, 
was  still  disagreeable,  but  there  were  no  bubbles  of  gas, 
as  at  Marseilles,  and  less  suspended  matter.  The  bene- 
ficial effect  of  the  Fox  River,  which  enters  here,  was 
noticeable  in  the  higher  dissolved  oxygen  figures  of  this 


108  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

stream.  But  few  specimens  of  sewage  organisms  were 
found.  Apparently  a  considerable  variety  of  fishes  ex- 
isted, but  the  numbers  were  never  large.  The  sludge  was 
full  of  slime  worms.  Blue-green  algae  were  not  nearly  as 
plentiful  as  were  the  clean  green  kinds.  Living  sponges 
and  crawfishes  were  found.  The  fishes  included  carp,  red- 
horse,  bullheads  and  minnows. 

At  Peru,  100  miles  from  Chicago,  the  water  still  had 
a  grayish  look,  was  full  of  minute  gray  particles  and  had 
a  slight  sewage  odor  in  August,  1911.  The  dissolved  oxy- 
gen varied  between  3.17  and  3.51  parts  per  million,  which 
is  35.8  to  39.6  per  cent,  of  saturation.  Mussels  were  found 
in  considerable  variety,  but  many  were  dead.  The  first 
river  shrimps  were  found  at  Depue,  about  112  miles  below 
Chicago,  and  at  this  place  were  also  taken  many  varieties 
of  insect  larvae,  and  naiids,  planarians,  etc.  Here  also 
were  the  first  commercial  fisheries,  carp,  sunfish  and  crap- 
pies  being  plentiful. 

At  Hennepin,  about  115  miles  from  Chicago,  the 
water  became,  to  all  appearances,  practically  normal  in 
the  midsummer  of  1911,  being  odorless,  greenish,  free 
from  clusters  of  fine  water  organisms  and  sewage  debris. 
The  mud  had  no  offensive  odor  and  only  a  few  slime 
worms.  Commercial  fishing  was  in  progress,  mostly, 
however,  in  the  adjacent  lakes.  There  were  but  2  septic 
organisms  to  the  cubic  centimeter  here  as  compared  with 
16  at  Starved  Rock  and  80  at  Morris,  and  6  pollutional 
forms  as  compared  with  71  at  Starved  Rock,  134  at  Mar- 
seilles and  142  at  Morris. 

Between  Henry  and  Chillicothe,  about  140  miles 
below  Chicago,  the  process  of  renovation  was  simply  car- 
ried a  little  farther  than  above.  Only  in  winter,  appar- 
ently, are  the  sediments  offensive  as  far  as  Chillicothe. 
Commercial  fishing  was  carried  on  in  the  Henry-Chilli- 
cothe  section  on  a  large  scale  in  good  seasons,  but  much 
complaint  had  lately  been  made  all  along  this  part  of  the 
river  that  fishing  was  not  so  good  as  in  former  years. 
Many  species  of  fishes,  most  of  them  bottom  fishes,  includ- 
ing large  cat-fishes,  the  red-horse,  the  buffalo,  and  the 


WHAT   BECOMES   OF   THE   SEWAGE  109 

sheepshead,  were  formerly  common  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  Illinois  River  but  are  now  wanting,  rare  or  greatly 
reduced  in  numbers. 

The  chemical  data  indicated  the  existence  of  four 
phases  in  the  river  conditions,  corresponding  to  the  four 
seasons.  The  midsummer  phase  was  characterized  by  a 
concentrated  pollution  and  an  early  and  rapid  decomposi- 
tion and  deoxygenating  process  with  the  lowest  oxygen 
readings  at  Morris  and  above  the  dam  at  Marseilles,  fol- 
lowed by  a  sudden  rise  in  oxygen  below  the  dam  and  a 
gradual  rise  down  the  stream  to  its  mouth.  The  winter 
phase  was  characterized  by  a  delay  in  decomposition,  such 
that  the  oxygen  ratio  was  high  at  Marseilles  and  declined 
slowly  to  the  middle  of  the  river's  course  (Havana)  and 
then  gradually  rose  to  its  mouth.  The  spring  and  fall 
phases  were  intermediate  between  these  two. 

7.— ANALYSES    BY    THE    SANITARY    DISTRICT    OF 

CHICAGO. 

Two  trips  through  the  Illinois  River  for  the  purpose 
of  making  oxygen  analyses  were  made  by  the  Sanitary 
District,  one  on  July  19  and  20,  and  the  other  on  August 
31  to  September  5,  1911.*  Starting  with  a  practical  ex- 
haustion of  the  oxygen  at  the  mouth  of  the  Drainage 
Canal,  the  low  figures  until  the  Marseilles  Dam  was 
reached  were  il/2  parts  in  one  case,  and  5^  parts  per  mil- 
lion in  the  other  case  above  the  dam. 

The  effect  of  passing  over  the  dam  and  through  the 
rapids  below  was  to  add  about  2  parts  per  million  of  oxy- 
gen to  the  water,  after  which  there  were  from  4  to  7  parts 
per  million  present  to  Dam  Henry.  At  Peoria,  there  were 
from  6  to  9  parts  per  million  present.  The  higher  figures 
for  each  part  here  given  refer  to  the  July  trip,  when  the 
river  was  at  a  high  stage  and  the  lower  figures  refer  to 
the  August-September  trip,  when  the  water  was  low.  At 
the  time  the  trips  were  made,  there  were  about  9  parts 
per  million  of  oxygen  in  the  Lake  Michigan  water  at 

*Report  on  Sewage  Disposal,  George  M.  Wisner,  Chief  Engineer,  Sanitary 
District,  Oct.  12,  1911,  Fig.  1,  p.  4. 


110          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

Chicago.  There  was  no  oxygen  whatever  in  the  water 
and  sewage  mixture  which  passed  the  power  house  at  the 
end  of  the  Drainage  Canal  at  Lockport.  The  samples 
taken  500  feet  below,  after  passing  the  power  house,  con- 
tained 4.1  to  5.1  parts  per  million. 

Mr.  Wisner's  report  gives  the  results  of  analyses  of 
39  samples  of  the  contents  of  the  Drainage  Canal  at  Lock- 
port  for  the  six  months  from  March  2ist  to  September 
2ist,  1911,  and  from  these  it  is  possible  to  form  some  idea 
of  the  material  which  is  discharged  into  the  Illinois 
Valley.  About  one-half  the  samples  were  taken  near  the 
top  and  the  other  half  near  the  bottom  of  the  stream. 
After  the  first  of  June,  there  was  generally  a  complete 
absence  of  dissolved  oxygen  and  no  oxygen  in  the  form  of 
nitrites  or  nitrates,  showing  the  stream  to  be  in  a  putrid 
condition. 

The  chlorine  usually  ran  steadily  below  20  with  ex- 
tremes of  15  and  21  parts  per  million.  The  suspended 
matter  varied  markedly  between  12  and  74.  The  total 
organic  nitrogen  fell  off  as  summer  advanced,  with  an 
average  of  1.17  and  extremes  of  1.80  and  0.65;  the  nitro- 
gen as  albuminoid  ammonia  averaged  5.7  and  ranged  be- 
tween .40  and  1.03;  the  nitrogen  as  free  ammonia  aver- 
aged 1.22  and  ranged  between  0.46  and  2.6,  and  the 
oxygen  consumed  averaged  with  limits  of  2.7  and  17.1. 
The  extremes  of  alkalinity  were  126  and  148  expressed  in 
terms  of  calcium  carbonate.  These  results  are  all  ex- 
pressed in  parts,  by  weight,  of  the  substance  named  in 
every  million  parts  of  the  water  and  sewage  mixture. 

At  the  time  these  analyses  were  made,  the  flow  of  .the 
Drainage  Channel  averaged  421,000  cubic  feet  per  minute 
and  varied  between  323,000  and  488,000  cubic  feet  per 
minute.  The  temperature  of  the  water  was  about  70  deg. 
Fahr. 

8.— OPINIONS    OF    THE    EARLY    PROMOTERS    OF    CHI- 
CAGO'S SEWAGE  DISPOSAL  SCHEME. 

The  investigations  of  Prof.  Long  and  his  colleagues m 
have  been  widely  quoted  and  have  done  much  to  fix  the 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF  THE   SEWAGE  111 

opinions  of  scientific  men  as  'to  the  measure  of  success 
whfch  has  attended  Chicago's  plan  of  disposing  of  its  sew- 
age. But  the  results  had  no  effect  in  preventing  St.  Louis 
from  bringing  the  threatened  suit  in  1900  against  Chicago 
for  polluting  her  water  supply. 

It  is  often  supposed  that  Prof.  Long's  investigations 
were  the  first  to  throw  light  upon  the  manner  in  which 
the  forces  of  nature  operated  in  disposing  of  the  sewage, 
but  this  is  not  the  fact.  That  the  sewage  was  finally  dis- 
posed of  by  oxidation,  that  agitation  facilitated  the  oxi- 
dizing process  and  that  temperature  had  an  important 
effect  upon  the  rate  of  oxidation  were  known  at  Chicago 
more  than  twenty  years  before  Prof.  Long's  report  of 
1889  was  made. 

An  investigation  of  the  best  means  available  for  im- 
proving the  water  supply  of  the  City  of  Chicago  was 
among  the  earliest  efforts  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of 
Illinois,  and  in  a  preliminary  report  to  the  Board  in  1869 
rendered  by  Dr.  John  H.  Rauch  and  Dr.  Frank  W.  Reilly 
on  "The  Water  Supplies  of  Illinois  and  the  Pollution  of 
Its  Streams,"  it  is  stated  "That  the  oxidation  of  organic 
matter  is  promoted  by  the  process  of  pumping  will  be 
seen  by  comparing  the  analyses  of  specimens,"  which  the 
investigators  had  collected  before  and  after  the  water  of 
the  river  had  passed  through  the  Bridgeport  works.  In 
the  next  paragraph,  it  is  stated  that  "the  agency  of  the 
pumps  in  promoting  oxidation  will  be  more  needed  in 
winter  than  in  summer,  because,  among  other  things,  the 
stirring  of  the  water  of  the  canal  by  the  passage  of  boats 
promotes  oxidation,  in  some  degree  at  least,  but,  more 
importantly,  because  low  temperature  retards  oxi- 
dation."* 

The  object  of  the  report  of  Dr.  Rauch,  which  has  just 
been  quoted,  was  to  secure  the  construction  of  the  pump- 
ing works  at  Bridgeport,  and  in  this  he  was  successful. 

Dr.  Rauch  had  confidence  in  the  self-purifying 
capacity  of  the  canal  and  thought  the  only  difficulty  lay  in 

*Pollution  of  the  Illinois  River,  James  A.  Egan,  State  Board  of  Health  of 
Illinois,  1901. 


112          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

increasing  its  flow  sufficiently.  He  held  the  opinion  that 
a  large  dilution  of  the  sewage  would  render  it  offensive 
to  the  people  in  the  Illinois  River  Valley  and  he  was  so 
certain  that  this  would  be  accomplished  that  he  concluded 
his  report  with  the  following  words  (p.  XIII): 

"There  is  another  view  of  the  case  to  which  the  attention 
of  the  municipal  authorities  of  Chicago  should  be  called,  which 
is  that  the  city  has  no  right  to  unnecessarily  injure  the  ma- 
terial and  sanitary  interests  of  any  other  part  of  the  state. 
The  community  of  interests  which  exists  between  the  citizens 
of  Chicago  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  lying  along  the 
canal  and  river,  forbids  the  injury  of  either  by  the  other." 

9.— ORIGINAL  ESTIMATES  OF  QUANTITY  OF  DILUTION 
WATER  REQUIRED. 

It  was  not  certain  to  Dr.  Rauch  how  much  water  was 
required  to  effect  the  desired  purpose.    He  said  (p.  XIV)  : 
"If  60,000  cubic  feet  of  water  per  minute  at  the  head  of 
the  canal  will  not  create  the  necessary  current  to  effect  this 
purpose,  I  have  only  to  remark  that  the  amount  may  be  in- 
creased   up    to    100,000   cubic   feet,    which,    according   to    Mr. 
Thomas,  is  the  present  capacity  of  the  canal." 

In  a  note  appended  to  his  report,  the  author  gave 
further  estimates  of  the  amount  of  water  which,  in  his 
judgment,  would  be  needed  to  flush  away,  without  nuis- 
ance, the  sewage  of  the  city.     He  argued  strenuously  for 
at  least  60,000  cubic  feet  per  minute  and  this  he  thought 
would  be  sufficient  for  the  population  of  that  day;  at  the 
same  time  he  clearly  foresaw  that  the  growing  city  would 
eventually  require  more.     Dr.  Rauch  was  then  Secretary 
of  the  State  Board  of  Health  and  his  arguments  had  the 
intended  effect.    The  Report  of  the  State  Board  of  Health 
from  which  the  above  abstracts  are  taken  says  (p.  XVI)  : 
"It  might  well  be  stated  here  that  owing  to  the  persistent 
recommendations  of  Dr.   Rauch,  fortified  by  the  opinions   of 
competent  observers,  that  the  only  remedy  for  the  conditions 
existing  lay  in  an   increased   flow  of  water  into  the  canal — 
and  strengthened  also  by  the  protests  of  cities  receiving  the 
sewage  of  Chicago,  and  a  tentative  proposition  to  compel  the 
city  to  dispose  of  its  sewage  in  another  manner  than  by  dis- 
charging it  into  the  canal — steps  were  taken  in  1881  to  cause 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF   THE   SEWAGE  113 

an  increased  flow  of  water  from  the  Chicago  river  into  the 
canal." 

After  the  pumping  works  advocated  by  Dr.  Ranch 
were  constructed,  the  water  which  they  supplied  kept  the 
Chicago  River  from  extremely  offensive  conditions  for 
about  two  years,  after  which  it  resumed  the  state  which 
existed  prior  to  the  construction  of  the  works.  What 
changes,  if  any,  were  produced  in  the  condition  of  the 
Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers,  were  not  indicated.  The 
state  of  those  streams,  as  they  appeared  to  the  senses,  was 
not  recorded. 

10.— INSANITARY  CONDITIONS  ATTENDING  THE  SELF- 
PURIFICATION  OF  THE  RIVERS. 

It  is  perfectly  evident  that  the  forces  of  nature  event- 
ually purify  the  Illinois  River  and  make  the  water  fit  to 
drink.  This  fact  was  established  by  the  early  investiga- 
tions of  the  State  Board  of  Health  for  their  time  and  it 
has  been  confirmed  for  subsequent  times  by  the  elaborate 
investigations  of  the  Water  Survey  and  the  State  Labora- 
tory of  History  as  well  as  by  the  experiments  and  tests 
which  were  made  in  order  to  defend  Chicago  against  the 
charge  that  it  was  polluting  the  water  supply  of  the  city 
of  St.  Louis.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  harmful  prop- 
erties of  the  sewage  eventually  disappear. 

The  catch  of  fish  in  the  lower  Illinois  has  been  in- 
creased in  recent  years,  although  a  large  part  of  the 
increase  seems  to  be  due  to  the  introduction  of  European 
carp,  and  many  excellent  species  which  were  formerly 
abundant  have  disappeared  from  the  upper  reaches. 

It  is  evident  that  sedimentation,  fermentation  and 
oxidation  play  important  parts  in  causing  the  sewage  mat- 
ter to  disappear,  but  how  these  processes  operate  is  far 
from  being  understood.  Evidently  they  act  variously  at 
different  seasons  of  the  year  and  it  is  certain  that  they 
are  not  under  control. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  highly  polluted  river 
would  occasion  a  good  deal  of  sickness,  but  this  does  not 
seem  to  be  the  case.  The  pollution  of  the  Illinois  is  not  a 


114          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

question  of  health  as  much  as  one  of  decency.  Chicago's 
sewage  does  not  produce  epidemics  in  the  Illinois  Valley 
or  elsewhere.  Contrary  to  old  belief,  it  never  did  so  in 
Chicago,  except  where  the  drinking  water  supplies  were 
directly  or  immediately  concerned,  or  the  infectious  mat- 
ter was  carried  to  food  by  flies  or  other  physical  means. 
The  people  of  the  Desplaines  and  Upper  Illinois  know 
that  the  water  is  poisonous  and  do  not  drink  it.  Long 
continued  experience  has  given  them  a  degree  of  care 
which  has  been  sufficient  to  avoid  the  danger.  It  is  possi- 
ble that  some  share  of  immunity  has  been  acquired 
against  the  ordinary  infections  which  might  be  expected. 
How  the  hundred  miles  of  sewage  would  act  as  a  distribu- 
tor of  disease  in  case  Chicago  was  visited  by  cholera,  or 
other  malignant  epidemic  disease,  can  only  be  con- 
jectured. 

11.— ROLE  OF  THE  CHICAGO  DRAINAGE  CANAL  IN  DIS- 
POSING OF  THE  SEWAGE  BY  DILUTION. 

In  spite  of  the  large  amount  of  analytical  and  other 
study  which  has  been  given  to  the  condition  of  the  Des- 
plaines and  Illinois  Rivers,  it  is  not  known  how  much  of 
Chicago's  sewage  could  be  carried  off  with  a  given  volume 
of  diluting  water  from  Lake  Michigan  without  creating 
offensive  conditions  at  some  point,  before  the  stream  puri- 
fies itself.  From  the  evidence  considered  by  the  Sanitary 
Experts  of  the  Real  Estate  Board,  it  appears  that  no  such 
estimate  is  possible. 

It  needs  no  analysis  to  show  that  the  minimum  ratio 
of  dilution  which  is  required  by  the  State  law  has  only  a 
theoretical  basis  and  that  the  avoidance  of  insanitary  con- 
ditions in  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers  was  the 
object  really  aimed  at  in  specifying  the  least  amount  of 
water  which  should  be  employed. 

Many  conditions  other  than  dilution  enter  into  the 
question  of  how  the  sewage  disappears.  The  composition 
and  state  of  the  sewage  with  reference  to  putrefaction  is, 
an  important  consideration,  as  are  the  condition  of  the 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF   THE   SEWAGE  115 

diluting  water  with  reference  to  temperature,  oxygen  con- 
tent, velocity  of  flow,  area  of  surface  as  compared  with 
depth,  agitation,  etc.  It  makes  a  great  deal  of  difference 
whether  the  sewage  is  allowed  to  become  entirely,  or 
somewhat,  putrid,  before  it  is  discharged,  and  whether 
fermentable  deposits  exist.  The  composition  and  amount 
of  trade  wastes  may  entirely  upset  all  other  calculations. 
All  these  conditions  play  important  parts  in  the  disposal 
of  the  sewage  into  the  Chicago  River  and  its  subsequent 
removal  and  digestion  through  the  Canal  and  river 
system. 

The  early  investigators  believed  that  the  sewage 
materials  must  finally  be  oxidized  before  they  could  be 
destroyed  and  no  advance  in  scientific  thought  has 
changed  that  belief.  Messrs.  Rauch,  Reilly  and  Long 
were  right  in  supposing  that  the  diluting  water  could 
bring  a  large  initial  supply  of  oxygen  and  that  further  de- 
mands must  be  furnished  chiefly  by  the  atmosphere.  The 
investigators  had  an  incomparable  opportunity  to  study 
the  oxygen1  requirements  of  the  sewage  and  the  phenom- 
ena attending  its  discharge  into  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
Canal;  but  their  methods  were  not  such  as  would  be  used 
today  and  they  had  few  data  on  the  amount  of  dissolved 
oxygen  present  or  required.  There  is  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  Drainage  and  Water  Supply  Commission  of 
1886-7  had  access  to  all  the  analytical  data  which  had  been 
collected  for  the  preceding  fifteen  years,  beside  other  in- 
formation concerning  the  filth  produced  and  its  behavior, 
but  they  were  uncertain  as  to  the  amount  of  dilution 
required,  and  their  recommendation  in  respect  to  this  mat- 
ter was  provisional. 

All  the  calculations  which  have  been  made,  recently 
or  in  former  times,  as  to  the  dilution  accomplished  or  re- 
quired at  Chicago  appear  to  have  been  based  on  the 
assumption  that  the  sewage  was  discharged  as  sewage 
into  the  diluting  water  and  that  this  water  and  sewage 
mixture  then  flowed  away  in  a  definite  and  constant  pro- 
portion. Nothing  could  be  farther  from  the  fact.  The 
mixing  is  not  completed  in  the  Chicago  River  and  prob- 


116          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

ably  not  in  the  Drainage  Canal  until  the  sewage  and  water 
have  flowed  for  a  considerable  distance. 

It  has  never  been  possible  to  say  with  any  degree 
of  accuracy  how  much  sewage  was  being  carried  away, 
and  how  much  was  being  left  behind.  Some  was  always 
depositing  and  some  disappearing  by  fermentation  at- 
tended by  the  liberation  of  gas.  All  the  arms  of  the  Chi- 
cagoi  River  have  received  large  volumes  of  sewage  and 
there  has  been  nothing  like  regularity  in  the  thoroughness 
with  which  they  have  been  flushed  out.  Winds,  move- 
ments of  vessels,  changes  in  the  lake  levels  and  rainfall 
have  all  had  their  influence,  and  although  the  great  bulk 
of  polluting  material  may  now  find  a  fairly  prompt  outlet 
through  the  Drainage  Canal,  the  amount  which  deposits 
and  putrefies  and  cannot  be  reached  and  promptly  re- 
moved by  flushing  is  considerable. 

From  analyses  of  the  mixture  of  sewage  and  water 
and  the  volumes  passing  Lockport,  contained  in  Mr.  Wis- 
ner's  report  on  sewage  disposal,  it  is  possible  to  calculate 
approximately  how  much  nitrogen  is  being  discharged 
into  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  valleys.  The  data  usecl 
relate  to  the  period  between  June  ist  and  September  28th, 
1911.* 

The  volume  of  water  averaged  for  the  four  months, 
4,210,000  cubic  feet  per  minute,  or  18.9  million  tons  per 
day.  The  nitrogen  as  total  organic  nitrogen,  averaged 
1.17  parts  per  million,  or  21.1  tons  per  day.  The  nitrogen 
as  free  ammonia  was  1.22  parts  per  million,  or  22.1  tons 
per  day.  Nitrites  and  nitrates  were  absent.  The  total, 
43.2  tons,  represents  the  nitrogen  which  was  discharged 
on  an  average  day  in  the  summer  of  1911  from  the  Drain- 
age Canal  at  Lockport  into  the  Desplaines  and  Illionis 
Valleys. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  between  the  43.2  tons  of 
nitrogen  calculated  from  the  known  condition  and  quan- 
tity of  the  water,  and  the  35  tons  estimated  on  the  basis 
of  the  feces  and  urine  excreted  by  the  tributary  popula- 

*Report  on  Sewage  Disposal  by  George  M.  Wisner,  Chief  Engineer  of 
the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago,  October  12,  1911,  Plates  7A  and  7C. 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF   THE   SEWAGE  117 

tion.  This  suggests  that  the  feces  and  urine  are  not  the 
only  important  source  of  the  nitrogen,  a  supposition  which 
appears  reasonable  in  view  of  the  large  numbers  of  ani- 
mals in  Chicago  and  the  manifold  uses  to  which  the  water 
is  put  in  cleaning  the  persons,  homes,  business  places  and 
streets  of  the  city.  And  when  the  amount  and  character 
of  the  trade  wastes  are  taken  into  consideration,  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  whole  weight  of  nitrogen  is  not  represented 
even  by  the  43.2  tons.  A  considerable  amount  must  escape 
from  the  over-polluted  parts  of  the  waterways  in  the  form 
of  gas. 

Aside  from  its  pre-eminently  useful  office  as  a  means 
of  carrying  the  sewage  away  from  Chicago,  the  function 
of  the  Drainage  Canal  is  to  mix,  dilute  and  partly  digest 
the  sewage,  before  it  is  discharged  into  the  Desplaines 
River.  It  is  most  active  as  a  digestive  agent  in  summer 
when  the  temperature  is  most  favorable  to  the  chemical 
and  biological  changes  which  take  place. 

12.— SELF-PURIFICATION  AS  SHOWN  IN  THE  ST.  LOUIS 

SUIT. 

Some  of  the  most  useful  information  available  con- 
cerning the  behavior  of  the  water  and  sewage  mixture  in 
purifying  itself  is  contained  in  the  results  of  analyses  and 
experiments  made  with  the  object  of  obtaining  evidence 
with  which  to  defend  the  suit  which  was  brought  by  St. 
Louis  to  stop  the  discharge  of  Chicago's  sewage  into  the 
Drainage  Canal. 

The  bill  of  complaint  alleged,  among  other  things, 
that  the  water  supply  of  St.  Louis,  which  is  taken  from  the 
Mississippi  about  43  miles  below  the  junction  of  that  river 
and  the  Illinois,  and  363  miles  from  Chicago  and  the  sup- 
plies of  other  towns  in  Missouri,  would  be  poisoned  by 
the  contents  of  the  Drainage  Canal  which  carried  about 
15,000  tons  of  filth  daily,  and  that  the  Mississippi  water 
would  be  rendered  unfit  for  use,  the  conditions  of  pollu- 
tion amounting  to  a  direct  and  continuing  nuisance.  The 
pollution  would  endanger  health  and  irreparably  injure 


118          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

business  and  had  already  caused  sickness  along  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi. 

The  complainant  was  the  State  of  Missouri,  in  which 
the  city  of  St.  Louis  is  situated,  the  use  of  the  name  of  the 
State  being  necessary  in  the  case  for  the  reason  that  it  is 
impossible,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  for  one 
city  to  sue  another.  The  suit  was  brought  January  17, 
1900;  it  was  decided  February  19,  1906. 

The  defendant  undertook  to  prove  through  facts  and 
opinions  introduced  by  experts,  that  the  water  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi was  not  poisoned  or  its  adaptability  for  domestic 
use  destroyed.  On  the  contrary,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
show  that  the  sewage-laden  water  contributed  by  the 
Drainage  Channel  greatly  improved  the  water  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. It  was  claimed  for  Chicago,  "That  by  natural 
laws  governing  running  water  in  large  bodies,  the  sewage 
was  deprived  of  all  its  deleterious  qualities  by  processes 
of  vaporization,  attrition  and  chemical  conversion." 

The  expert  testimony  covers  over  8,000  printed 
pages,  and  represents  the  state  of  knowledge  of  the  day 
on  chemical,  bacteriological  and  epidemiological  subjects 
more  or  less  germane  to  the  case.  There  is  an  excellent 
summary  by  Leighton.* 

The  decision  of  the  court  was  rendered  six  years 
after  the  beginning  of  the  suit.  The  Court  stated  that  the 
actual  facts  had  required  for  their  establishment  delicate 
experiments  and  the  most  subtle  speculations  of  modern 
science.  But  the  bill  of  complaint  was  dismissed  on  the 
ground  that  the  evidence  fell  far  below  the  allegations. 

The  testimony  concerned  the  self-purification  of  the 
Illinois  as  regarded  from  the  drinking  water  standpoint. 
There  is  comparatively  little  evidence  to  show  how  the 
river  recovered  its  purity,  so  far  as  nuisance  is  concerned. 
That  the  Illinois  River  was  able  to  assimilate  the  enor- 
mous amount  of  filth  which  was  thrown  into  it  was, 
nevertheless,  evident. 

*Pollution  of  the  Illinois  and  Missisippi  Rivers  by  Chicago  Sewage,  by 
Marshall  O.  Leighton,  Water  Supply  and  Irrigation  Paper  No.  194,  United  States 
Geological  Survey,  1907. 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF  THE   SEWAGE  119 

The  chemical  and  bacteriological  evidence  indicates 
that  the  Illinois  purifies  itself  twice  on  its  journey  from 
Chicago  to  the  Mississippi:  once  after  receiving  the  sew- 
age of  Chicago  and  again  after  the  sewage  of  Peoria  and 
Pekin  are  poured  into  it.  In  each  case  the  pollution  is 
excessive.  The  sewage  of  Chicago  constitutes  what  is 
probably  the  heaviest  load  of  polluting  material  which  is 
discharged  at  one  point  into  any  river  in  the  world.  The 
pollution  from  Peoria  and  Pekin  consists  largely  of  the 
excrement  of  cattle.  This  material  was  described  as  some- 
times forming  floating  islands  so  large  and  compact  that 
they  had  to  be  broken  up  before  they  could  pass  the 
bridges  which  span  the  river. 

The  evidence  shows  that  after  receiving  its  burdens 
of  filth,  the  Illinois  River  passes  through  periods  of  sick- 
ness from  which  it  emerges  as  clear  and  wholesome  as 
other  rivers  in  the  same  region  which  have  not  been  con- 
taminated beyond  the  common.  Curiously  enough,  the 
distance  traveled  before  the  purified  condition  is  resumed, 
appears  from  the  testimony  to  be  about  the  same  in  each 
case:  125  to  130  miles. 

The  process  of  self-purification  is  assisted  by  the  ad- 
dition of  river  water  which  the  tributaries  of  the  Illinois 
receive  on  their  way  toward  the  Mississippi.  This  dilu- 
tion is  evident  in  the  decrease  in  chlorine  which  takes 
place  in  the  water  between  Lockport  and  La  Salle,  70 
miles  below.  The  reductions  which  occur  in  the  free  and 
albuminoid  ammonias  and  in  the  numbers  of  bacteria  are 
still  more  marked. 

During  its  course  as  a  highly  polluted  stream,  the 
unsuitability  of  the  water  for  drinking  and  other  domestic 
purposes  is  recognized  by  those  who  live  upon  the  shores 
of  the  river.  No  public  water  supplies  are  drawn  from  it. 
Comparison  of  the  death  rates  among  the  cities  and  towns 
by  the  river  side,  with  the  rates  in  other  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, do  not  show  that  any  harmful  effects  are  produced 
upon  health. 


120          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

13.— DATA  ON  THE  DISAPPEARANCE  OF  THE  DISEASE 

GERMS. 

The  evidence  presented  in  the  St.  Louis  suit  concern- 
ing the  disappearance  of  typhoid  bacilli  and  other  intesti- 
nal bacteria  are  among  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the 
testimony.  Apparently  the  harmful  bacteria  do  not  live 
long  in  the  water  and  sewage  mixture,  but  their  length  of 
life  and  the  manner  of  death  cannot  be  said  to  have  been 
demonstrated.  It  was  impossible  to  study  the  germs  in 
their  natural  environment  or  to  imitate  that  environment 
with  sufficient  exactness  to  establish  these  facts.  The  evi- 
dence on  this  point  was  of  a  suggestive,  rather  than  of  a 
convincing,  character,  and  was  of  principal  value  when 
taken  into  consideration  with  other  data  of  a  related 
nature. 

Typhoid  statistics  in  the  region  concerned,  the  rec- 
ords of  epidemics  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  the  usual 
behavior  of  saprophytic  organisms,  the  known  require- 
ments of  the  typhoid  bacillus  as  to  food  and  temperature, 
and  the  time  required  for  the  sewage  bacteria  to  pass  from 
one  point  to  another  along  the  waterways,  all  had  cumula- 
tive force  in  favor  of  the  opinion  that  any  germs  of 
typhoid  which  might  be  discharged  into  the  sewers  of 
Chicago  could  not  survive  until  they  entered  with  the 
drinking  water  into  the  houses  of  St.  Louis.  Dr.  E.  O. 
Jordan,  Professor  of  Bacteriology  in  the  University  of 
Chicago,  under  whose  supervision  a  large  part  of  the 
analytical  work  was  done,  expressed  the  opinion  that 
typhoid  bacilli  would  not  live,  under  the  conditions  which 
existed,  for  more  than  four  to  six  days.  Assuming  that 
they  moved  at  the  average  rate  of  about  two  miles  per 
hour,  they  could  only  travel  from  50  to  75  miles  from  Chi- 
cago toward  St.  Louis  before  they  perished. 

The  effect  of  irregularities  in  the  discharge  of  the 
sewage  and  in  the  flow  of  the  river  before  the  harmful 
properties  of  the  sewage  were  destroyed,  was  considered, 
and  opinions  were  expressed  on  both  sides  of  the  question 
whether  the  deposits  which  formed  at  some  seasons  might 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF   THE   SEWAGE  121 

be  flushed  down  the  river  at  others,  without  yielding  proof 
of  one  contention  or  the  other. 

The  effect  of  sedimentation  was  said  by  some  to  be 
on  the  side  of  purification,  since  it  removed  bacteria  from 
the  water.  This  contention  was  disputed  by  others,  who 
claimed  that  sedimentation  only  stores  impurities  which 
may  later  be  raised  up  and  carried  on  by  swifter  currents. 

The  effect  of  dilution  was  a  contested  point,  some  ex- 
pressing the  opinion  that  it  was  a  purifying  influence, 
since  it  lessened  the  chance  of  drinking  harmful  germs  in 
a  given  volume  of  water,  while  others  thought  this  was 
of  little  moment  since  the  germs  were  not  actually  de- 
stroyed. 

Similarly,  the  effects  of  sunlight,  of  algae,  of  agita- 
tion and  of  other  influences  were  asserted,  challenged,  and 
argued  without  bringing  out  information  which  is  useful 
in  the  present  inquiry. 

14.— TESTIMONY    AS    TO    THE    EFFECT     OF    VARIOUS 
RATIOS  OF  DILUTION. 

Theories  were  advanced,  examples  were  cited  and 
authorities  were  quoted  to  show  how  water  would,  and 
would  not,  purify  itself.  Tables  were  put  in  evidence  to 
show  what  ratios  of  sewage  to  water  would  produce  a 
nuisance,  those  which  would  remove  all  risk  of  nuisance 
and  what  degrees  of  dilution  would  prove  doubtful.  Mr. 
Rudolph  Hering,  Consulting  Engineer,  who  introduced 
this  testimony,  said  that  in  his  opinion  the  mixture  would 
prove  offensive  if  the  amount  of  flowing  water  was  less 
than  2  cubic  feet  per  second  per  1,000  persons  sewering 
into  the  stream.  This  dilution  would  represent  1,292 
gallons  per  capita  per  day.  If  the  dilution  was  equal  to, 
or  more  than,  8  cubic  feet,  it  would  not  be  offensive.  Be- 
tween these  wide  limits  there  might,  or  might  not  be, 
nuisance.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  engineer  to  select  be- 
tween these  limits  that  dilution  which  conformed  best  to 
the  local  conditions. 

In  connection  with  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal,  Mr. 
Hering  testified  that  while  a  member  of  the  Water  and 
Drainage  Commission  in  1886-7,  he  had  recommended  a 


122          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

dilution  of  4  cubic  feet  per  second  per  thousand  persons, 
because  in  the  state  of  his  knowledge  at  that  time  he  did 
not  feel  justified  in  recommending  a  less  dilution.  Subse- 
quently, the  allowance  was  reduced  to  3.33  cubic  feet,  and 
on  that  basis  the  canal  was  built. 

There  was  introduced  in  the  testimony  in  the  St. 
Louis  suit,  a  table,  based  on  the  population  tributary  to, 
and  the  amount  of  water  flowing  through,  the  Drainage 
Channel.  This  showed  the  approximate  dilutions  which 
had  existed  in  the  Drainage  Channel  since  it  was  opened 
in  1900.  From  these  figures,  it  appears  that  in  1900  the 
population  whose  sewage  was  discharged  into  the  canal 
was  1,443,780;  the  average  dilution,  as  determined  by 
weekly  averages,  was  2.70  cubic  feet  per  second  per  thou- 
sand of  population.  In  the  year  1902  the  tributary  popu- 
lation was  1,545,300  and  the  average  dilution  was  3.18. 

15.— THE   ANALYTICAL   EVIDENCE   IN   THE    ST.    LOUIS 

SUIT. 

The  analytical  evidence  which  was  offered  in  the  St. 
Louis  case  was  presented  in  the  form  of  tables  and  dia- 
grams in  great  variety.  Every  analytical  study  of  the 
Illinois  before  and  after  the  opening  of  the  Drainage 
Canal  was  brought  forward,  and  in  some  cases,  experts 
were  especially  employed  to  interpret  the  results.  Empha- 
sis was  naturally  placed  on  the  bacteriological  data,  but 
the  chemical  results  received  nearly  an  equal  share  of 
attention.  The  analyses  which  Professors  Long  and 
Palmer  made  of  the  waters  before  and  after  the  opening 
of  the  Canal  were  considered  of  more  than  ordinary  im- 
portance from  the  chemical  standpoint. 

The  data  presented  by  Prof.  Long  related  to  the 
period  between  the  years  1886  and  1902,  and  showed  the 
condition  of  the  old  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  the  Des- 
plaines,  the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi  Rivers  at  various 
points  and  at  various  seasons.  After  the  opening  of  the 
Drainage  Channel,  the  composition  of  the  water  and  sew- 
age mixture  of  the  Channel  was,  in  parts  per  million,  as 
follows:  Albuminoid  ammonia,  1.13;  free  ammonia,  3.9; 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF   THE   SEWAGE  123 

oxygen  consumed,  7.46;  chlorine,  23.5.  At  Morris,  58 
miles  from  the  head  of  the  Drainage  Channel,  the  follow- 
ing average  data  represented  the  conditions  from  May  to 
October,  1900:  Albuminoid  ammonia,  0.63;  free  am- 
monia, 2.84;  oxygen  consumed,  6.40;  chlorine,  17.8. 

Of  special  interest  in  connection  with  the  chemical 
work,  was  the  testimony  of  Prof.  Palmer  to  the  effect  that 
there  was  always  enough  dissolved  oxygen  in  the  waters 
of  the  Illinois  to  saturate  the  water.  At  times  the  water 
was  supersaturated  with  oxygen,  a  condition  which  was 
attributed  to  the  action  of  chlorophyl-bearing  organisms. 

16.— THE  ILLINOIS  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  THE  OPENING 
OF  THE  DRAINAGE  CHANNEL. 

So  far  as  the  chemical  evidence  which  was  introduced 
in  the  St.  Louis  case  is  concerned,  the  data  indicate  that 
the  condition  of  the  Illinois  was  better  after  the  opening 
of  the  Drainage  Channel  than  it  had  been  before.  If  the 
Channel  had  brought  more  sewage  into  the  valley,  it  had 
also  brought  more  diluting  water,  the  net  result  being 
that  the  river  was  in  better  condition  than  when  the  Illi- 
nois and  Michigan  Canal  had  alone  to  carry  the  sewage  of 
Chicago  to  the  Illinois. 

Dr.  Leonard  P.  Kinnicutt,  Professor  of  Sanitary 
Chemistry  in  the  Worcester  (Mass.)  Polytechnic  Insti- 
tute, basing  his  opinion  on  the  data  submitted  by  Profs. 
Long,  Jordan  and  Palmer,  testified  that  about  20  per  cent, 
of  the  organic  matter  which  was  discharged  into  the 
Drainage  Channel  disappeared  before  the  water  and  sew- 
age mixture  reached  Lockport.  In  his  judgment,  the 
Drainage  Channel  was  a  useful  instrument  in  furthering 
the  purification  of  the  sewage,  serving  somewhat  in  the 
capacity  of  a  septic  tank. 

17.— THEORIES    AS    TO    SELF-PURIFICATION. 

Various  experts  expressed  the  opinion  that  water  did 
not  purify  itself  more  rapidly  when  running  than  when 
standing  still.  It  was  time,  rather  than  distance  traveled, 
that  was  the  all-important  factor  in  the  self-purification  of 


124          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

streams.  Prof.  Sedgwick  emphasized  this  point,  and 
called  attention  to  the  large  number  of  fatal  mistakes 
made  by  cities  which,  relying  too  much  upon  the  self- 
purifying  power  of  running  water,  had  built  public  water 
works  which  had  brought  great  epidemics  of  typhoid  fever 
upon  them. 

Among  the  theories  which  were  advanced  to  account 
for  the  self-purification  of  Chicago's  sewage  was  that  of 
Prof.  Long,  who  pointed  out  that,  inasmuch  as  the  banks 
of  the  Illinois  are  very  low,  one  of  the  effects  of  floods 
was  to  spread  the  water  over  an  area  of  many  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  acres,  providing  for  the  sedimentation 
and  oxidation  of  matters  carried  by  the  waters  at  these 
periods. 

The  overflow  disposed  in  this  manner  of  a  vast 
amount  of  organic  matter  which,  in  a  stream  with  high 
banks,  would  have  to  be  carried  forward.  Inasmuch  as 
by  far  the  largest  part  of  the  water  at  flood  times  left 
the  river's  natural  bed  and  was  distributed  over  the  land, 
the  original  sewage  or  its  remnants  must,  in  like  manner, 
be  distributed,  and  thus  made  accessible  to  the  purifying 
processes  of  sedimentation  and  oxidation.  The  lakes  and 
dams  across  the  Illinois  likewise  afforded  large  basins  for 
oxidation. 

18.— RECOGNITION    OF    THE    IMPORTANCE    OF    OXIDA- 
TION. 

The  useful  part  played  by  oxidation  in  disposing  of 
the  sewage  was  clearly  recognized  in  the  suit,  but  the  con- 
ditions which  were  necessary  in  order  that  the  process  of 
oxidation  might  be  carried  on  to  the  best  advantages  were 
not  defined.  It  was  found  that  in  some  way  the  Drainage 
Channel  and  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  were  useful 
in  disposing  of  the  sewage  and  it  was  suggested  that  they 
might  be  acting  in  the  capacity  of  septic  tanks,  but  this 
was  a  mere  guess. 

It     seems   not   to    have   been    suspected,    except    by 
Prof.  Palmer,  that  all  of  the  sewage  which  was  produced^ 
in  Chicago  and  turned  into  the  Chicago  River  did  not  get 


WHAT   BECOMES  OF   THE   SEWAGE  125 

into  the  Drainage  Channel,  but  remained  in  the  form  of 
deposits  which  fermented  and  sent  off  to  the  atmosphere 
the  products  of  their  decomposition.  Yet  this  process 
was,  and  still  is,  going  on. 

The  amount  of  organic  matter  and  the  other  consti- 
tuents of  the  sewage  were  not  accurately  determined.  It 
could  not,  of  course,  be  shown  by  analyses  of  the  water  of 
the  Chicago  River  or  of  the  Drainage  Canal. 

Since  the  analyses  of  Prof.  Long  and  his  associates, 
a  change  has  occurred  in  the  significance  which  sanitary 
experts  attach  to  determinations  of  the  nitrogen  com- 
pounds in  water,  so  that  no  such  importance  would  be  at- 
tached to  the  great  mass  of  chemical  results  which  were 
submitted  in  the  testimony  in  the  St.  Louis  case  today  as 
was  given  to  them  at  the  time  when  they  were  presented. 
At  the  present  time,  there  is  a  distinct  tendency  to  set 
aside  the  elaborate  and  complicated  analyses  of  albu- 
minoid ammonia,  free  ammonia,  nitrites  and  nitrates  for 
more  simple  and  direct  tests  of  the  extent  of  fouling,  such 
as  determinations  of  the  putrescibility  of  the  water  and 
sewage  mixture  and  the  amount  of  dissolved  oxygen  pres- 
ent. There  were,  apparently,  no  putrescibility  tests  sub- 
mitted in  the  St.  Louis  case  and  the  dissolved  oxygen 
determinations  were  exceedingly  few. 

The  bacteriological  work  was  of  the  sort  which  the 
best  present  usage  calls  for,  except,  perhaps,  that  more 
importance  would  now  be  attached  to  determinations  of 
B.  coli  and  greater  accuracy  would  be  possible  in  stating 
the  numbers  of  this  intestinal  organism  than  the  standard 
methods  of  a  dozen  years  ago  permitted. 

As  a  whole,  the  analyses  hung  together  well,  and  it 
is  worthy  of  remark  that  no  considerable  part  of  the  more 
important  analytical  work  has  ever  been  challenged. 
Only  the  inferences  which  were  drawn  from  the  data,  and 
which  were  necessarily  more  or  less  arbitrary,  are  open  to 
dispute. 


Part  VI 

THE   CALUMET   PROBLEM  AND  THE 
LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY 

1.— RELATION  BETWEEN  THE  CALUMET  PROBLEM 
AND  THE  LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY. 

In  its  narrowest  sense,the  Calumet  problem  consists 
in  determining  how  best  to  dispose  of  the  sewage  which  is 
produced  in  the  State  of  Illinois  to  the  south  of  the  orig- 
inal Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  in  order  to  protect  the 
water  supply  of  Chicago  against  pollution  from  the  Calu- 
met. In  a  broader  sense,  the  problem  appears  to  be  the 
disposal  of  the  sewage  in  the  whole  Calumet  River 
drainage  area,  a  large  part  of  which  lies  in  the  State  of 
Indiana. 

The  lake  levels  controversy  is  a  dispute  between  the 
Sanitary  District  and  the  United  States  Government  as 
to  the  amount  of  water  which  Chicago  has  a  right,  or  may 
be  permitted,  to  divert  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Des- 
plaines  and  Illinois  Rivers.* 

The  Calumet  sewage  problem  and  the  lake  levels  con- 
troversy are  related  in  that  the  Calumet-Sag  Canal  calls 
for  2,000  cubic  feet  of  lake  water  to  begin  with,  and  twice 
that  amount  ultimately.  Application  by  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict for  permission  to  take  2,000  cubic  feet  in  addition  to 
the  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second  already  allowed  for  the 
Chicago  Drainage  Channel  precipitated  objections  from 
the  United  States  to  the  diversion  of  so  much  water  at  the 
southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  ground  of  these 
objections  lay  in  the  danger  that  the  removal  of  14,000 
cubic  feet  of  water  per  second  would  lower  the  levels  of 


*For  a  brief  on  the  facts  and  issues  on  behalf  of  the  Sanitary  District,  see, 
The  Diversion  of  the  Waters  of  the  Great  Lakes  by  Way  of  the  Sanitary  and 
Ship  Canal  of  Chicago,  by  Lyman  E.  Cooley,  Chicago,  February,  1913. 

126 


THE  LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY  127 

the  Great  Lakes,  thus  reducing  the  depth  of  water  in  the 
harbors.  A  material  reduction  in  depth  would  entail  ex- 
pense upon  the  United  States  for  dredging  and  other 
improvements. 

At  the  present  time,  the  Sanitary  District  is  proceed- 
ing to  construct  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel  as  though  it 
was  certain  to  obtain  the  diluting  water  required,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  application  made  by  the 
District  for  permission  to  divert  4,000  cubic  feet  per  sec- 
ond for  the  purpose  of  reversing  the  flow  of  the  Calumet 
River  and  causing  the  water  of  that  river  to  pass  through 
the  Canal  was  denied  by  the  United  States  Secretary  of 
War  in  an  opinion  in  which  he  repeated  a  suggestion 
already  made  that  this  was  a  question  of  capital  and 
national  importance  and  should  be  submitted  to  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States. 

At  the  present  time  the  United  States  is  endeavoring 
to  prevent  the  diversion  of  more  water  from  the  lake  than 
the  4,167  cubic  feet  which  has  been  allowed  for  the  Chi- 
cago Drainage  Channel  and  is  suing  the  Sanitary  District 
in  two  cases,  the  two  being  tried  simultaneously,  by  mu- 
tual agreement. 

The  bill  of  complaint  in  the  first  suit  was  filed  on 
March  23,  1908.  It  seeks  to  enjoin  the  defendant  from 
building  any  channel  to  connect  the  Little  Calumet  River 
with  the  Sanitary  District's  main  channel  so  as  to  reverse 
the  flow  of  the  Calumet  and  the  Little  Calumet  Rivers  or 
to  divert  any  water  from  Lake  Michigan,  except  through 
the  Chicago  River.  The  second  bill  of  complaint  was  filed 
October  6,  1913,  and  seeks  to  enjoin  the  Sanitary  District 
from  diverting  or  abstracting  water  from  Lake  Michigan 
in  excess  of  the  4,167  cubic  feet  per  second  already 
allowed. 

It  is  inappropriate  and  unnecessary  here  to  discuss 
the  lake  levels  controversy,  beyond  indicating  its  bearing 
upon  the  whole  question  of  how  the  sewage  of  Chicago 
shall  in  future  be  disposed  of.  Through  a  large  number  of 
expert  witnesses,  Chicago  has  sought  to  show  that  there 
is  no  other  way  of  protecting  its  water  supplies  and  dis- 


128          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

posing  of  its  sewage  than  by  the  discharge  of  the  sewage 
into  the  Illinois  valley  except  at  prohibitive  expense,  and 
it  contends  that  the  lake  levels  are  in  no  danger  of  being 
lowered  through  the  abstraction  of  the  water  which  is 
required  for  the  purpose  of  diluting  its  sewage  and  flush- 
ing it  to  the  Illinois. 

2.— DRAINAGE  AREA  AND  POPULATION  IN  THE  CALU- 
MET DISTRICT. 

The  Calumet  River  enters  Lake  Michigan  about  1 1 
miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River  and  imme- 
diately south  of  the  original  Sanitary  District  boundary, 
The  drainage  area  of  the  Calumet  is  825  square  miles,  of 
which  485  square  miles  lie  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  and  340 
square  miles  are  in  the  State  of  Illinois.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances,  the  flow  is  very  small  (700  cubic  feet  per 
second  plus  sewage  525  cubic  feet  per  second)  but  at  times 
of  heavy  rain,  it  has  been  found  to  have  a  flow  of  13,000 
cubic  feet  per  second,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  discharge 
may  reach  a  maximum  of  15,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 
The  drainage  area  includes  large  swampy  regions  and 
lakes  which  prolong  the  flood  periods.  The  Calumet 
River  has  been  improved  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment for  a  width  of  200  feet  and  a  depth  of  20  feet  up  to 
the  Forks  or  outlet  of  Calumet  Lake,  a  distance  of  5  or  6 
miles,  and  it  is  expected  that  further  improvements  on  the 
same  lines  will  be  made  up  to  Stony  Creek,  about  7  or  8 
miles  further.  The  Calumet  is  formed  about  7  miles  from 
its  mouth  by  the  junction  of  the  Grand  Calumet,  and  Lit- 
tle Calumet,  the  latter,  in  spite  of  its  name,  being  by  far 
the  more  important  branch.  Lake  Calumet,  with  an  area 
of  about  four  square  miles,  lies  about  half  way  between 
the  mouth  of  the  Calumet  River  and  the  entrance  to  the 
proposed  Sag  Channel. 

The  Calumet  River  is  of  increasing  importance  as  a 
harbor.  At  the  mouth  are  immense  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments, and  the  future  industrial  development  of  this 
region  promises  to  rival  that  of  the  Chicago  River  itself. 


THE  LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY  129 

3.— PRESENT    CONDITIONS   OF   SEWAGE   DISPOSAL   IN 

THE  CALUMET. 

The  Calumet  River  is  in  a  highly  polluted  condition. 
When  visited  by  the  Board  of  Experts  of  the  Chicago 
Real  Estate  Board  in  April,  1914,  the  water  was  seen  to  be 
black  and  giving  off  quantities  of  gas,  doubtless  the 
product  of  the  fermentatons  which  were  proceeding  at  the 
bottom. 

Great  volumes  of  sewage  and  manufacturing  wastes 
are  discharged  into  the  river,  particularly  by  the  towns  of 
Gary,  Indiana  Harbor,  East  Chicago,  Whitney  and  that 
part  of  Hammond  known  as  Robertsdale,  as  well  as  the 
sewage  from  that  part  of  Chicago  which  lies  south  of  8/th 
Street. 

In  May,  1910,  the  Committee  on  Engineering  of  the 
Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  recommended  the  immediate 
construction  of  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel  for  the  disposal 
of  that  part  of  the  sewage  which  it  could  be  made  to  carry 
off,  and  accompanied  the  report  in  which  this  recom- 
mendation was  made  with  a  number  of  letters,  from  one 
of  which,  written  by  Dr.  Arthur  Lederer,  Chemist  and 
Bacteriologist  of  the  Sanitary  District,  the  following 
statement  is  quoted.* 

"At  times  of  flood  the  current  will  run  out  of  the  Calumet 
river  at  a  rate  of  5  or  6  miles  an  hour  for  days  at  a  time,  con- 
taminating the  water  supply  of  Indiana  Harbor,  East  Chicago, 
Whitney  and  Hammond.  Even  the  water  supply  of  the  south- 
ern portion  of  Chicago  is  affected  for  when  off-shore  winds 
prevail,  streams  of  muddy  water  can  be  seen  in  the  lake  for 
several  miles  out,  tending  to  the  west  as  far  as  the  Hyde  Park 
crib  of  the  Chicago  water  works." 

4.— THE  CALUMET-SAG  CHANNEL. 

The  possibility  of  reversing  the  flow  of  the  Calumet 
River,  after  the  manner  in  which  the  current  of  the  Chi- 
cago River  has  been  reversed,  and  of  discharging  both  of 
these  two  rivers  to  the  Illinois  Valley  was  considered  by 

*Calumet-Sag  Channel  a  Vital  Necessity;  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Engi- 
neering of  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago,  adopted  May  25,  1910.  Letters  sub- 
mitted with  the  Report,  p.  12. 


130          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

the  Drainage  and  Water  Commission  of  1886-7.  That 
Board  appears  to  have  contemplated  the  diversion  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  storm  water  of  the  entire  Metropolitan 
district  as  a  practicable  proposition  after  kka  glance  at  the 
map  and  an  examination  of  the  ground."  Their  idea  of 
how  the  diversion  could  be  accomplished  is  stated  in  the 
following  quotation  from  their  report,  p.  24:* 

"Both  branches  of  the  Calumet  river  can  be  diverted  west 
of  the  Indiana  state  line  into  Wolf  lake  and  thence  into  Lake 
Michigan.  The  Desplaines  river  can  have  its  flood  waters 
diverted  into  the  North  Branch  near  the  north  line  of  the  town 
of  Jefferson,  and  the  contained  waters  can  be  led  from  Bowman- 
ville  directly  into  the  lake.  Salt  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Des- 
plaines river,  can  readily  be  turned  southwardly  near  Weston 
Springs,  through  a  watercourse  known  as  Flag  Creek,  at  one 
time  evidently  the  old  bed,  discharging  into  the  Desplaines  op- 
posite Sag,  and  thus  reducing  the  necessary  storm  water  ca- 
pacity in  the  new  channel  between  Sag  and  Summit." 

The  Channel  from  the  Calumet  to  Sag  was  estimated 
to  cost  between  $2,500,000  and  $3,000,000  and  the  diver- 
sion of  the  flood  waters  of  the  Calumet  would  cost  be- 
tween $350,000  and  $400,000. 

A  circumstance  which  greatly  favored  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel  and  was  a  prominent 
factor  in  determining  its  size,  was  the  fact  that  the  lower 
end  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Channel  proved  in  practice 
to  have  a  capacity  4,000  cubic  feet  per  second  greater  than 
the  10,000  cubic  feet  capacity  which  had  been  expected. 

The  upper  end  of  the  Drainage  Canal  could  not  flow 
14,000  cubic  feet,  but  it  would  be  entirely  practicable  to 
add  4,000  cubic  feet  from  the  Calumet  to  the  lower  end 
and  thus  utilize  the  capacity  to  the  fullest  extent. 

Preparation  for  the  construction  of  the  Calumet-Sag 
Channel  was  made  when,  in  1903,  the  original  area  of  the 
Sanitary  District  was  increased  by  the  addition  of  a  rec- 
tangle of  94.5  square  miles  of  territory  to  the  south.  The 
new  territory,  generally  called  the  Calumet  District,  in- 
cluded the  Calumet  River  from  its  mouth,  a  short  way  up 

*Report    of    the    International    Waterways    Commission,    January    4,    190T, 
Appendix  A,  p.  24. 


THE  LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY  131 

• 

the  Grand  Calumet,  and  a  long  way  up  the  Little  Calumet, 
the  total  distance  by  way  of  the  winding  streams  being 
not  much  short  of  25  miles. 

The  annexed  region  contains  the  Calumet  Lake  and 
a  part  of  Wolf  Lake,  the  other  part  of  the  latter  lying  in 
the  State  of  Indiana. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  argument  over  the 
Calumet,  both  in  and  out  of  Chicago,  some  persons  think- 
ing that  the  enlargement  of  the  original  territory  of  the 
Sanitary  District  by  the  Calumet  annexation,  and  a  nearly 
equal  area  to  the  far  north  which  was  made  at  the  same 
time,  was  neither  necessary  nor  justified  as  a  part  of  the 
question  of  disposing  of  the  sewage  from  the  central  and 
densely  settled  section  of  Chicago.  Others  have  held  the 
view  that  the  metropolitan  region  should  be  dealt  with  as 
a  single  aggregate  and  that  no  provision  for  disposing  of 
the  sewage  of  part  should  be  made  without  reference  to 
the  needs  of  the  whole  region. 

A  number  of  notable  reports  have  been  made  on  the 
disposal  of  the  sewage  of  the  Calumet  District  and  the 
diversion  of  the  Calumet  River  to  the  Illinois  and  these 
will  be  considered  here,  after  briefly  describing  the  canal 
which  is  being  built. 

The  Calumet-Sag  Channel  is  being  constructed  from 
Stony  Creek  on  the  North  Calumet  River,  east  of  the  town 
of  Blue  Island,  to  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal,  at  a  place 
called  Sag  about  13  miles  above  the  lower  end  of  the  Chi- 
cago Drainage  Canal.  Its  length  is  about  18  miles,  its 
width  is  to  be  from  36  to  60  feet  and  its  depth  20  feet. 

The  Canal  is  to  have  regulating  works  at  its  eastern 
end  to  control  the  water  which  flows  through  it  and  the 
arrangements  as  to  bridges,  etc.,  are  such  as  to  provide  for 
navigation. 

The  capacity  of  the  canal  is  at  first  to  be  2,000  cubic 
feet  per  second,  provision  being  made  for  enlarging  it  so 
as  to  pass  4,000  cubic  feet  at  a  later  period,  if  desired. 
Under  the  Sanitary  District  law,  the  original  flow  of  2,000 
cubic  feet  per  second  is  supposed  to  provide  for  the  dis- 
posal by  dilution  of  the  sewage  of  a  population  of  600,000. 


132          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

According  to  official  figures,  given  by  the  Chief  Engi- 
neer of  the  Sanitary  District  in  January,  1914,  the  esti- 
mated cost  of  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel  for  a  capacity  of 
2,000  cubic  feet  per  second  is  $14,290,100.53.  This  includes 
the  construction  of  the  channel,  controlling  works,  inter- 
cepting sewers  to  convey  the  sewage  to  the  channel  from 
the  principal  centers  of  population  and  for  the  steriliza- 
tion of  certain  storm  water  overflows,  land,  engineering 
and  emergencies.  The  capitalized  operating  cost  of  the 
channel,  sewers,  etc.,  as  of  1920,  is  $5,159,370.  Total  capi- 
talized and  construction  cost,  $19,449,470. 

When  developed  to  its  full  capacity  of  4,000  cubic  feet 
per  second,  the  construction  cost  would  be  $19,925,100, 
the  capitalized  operating  cost  $6,229,500,  and  the  total 
capitalized  and  construction  cost  $25,729,640.  These  fig- 
ures are  as  of  1930. 

5.— THE  INTERNATIONAL  WATERWAYS  REPORT. 

On  January  4,  1907,  the  International  Waterways 
Commission,  consisting  of  official  delegates  from  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  presented  to  their  respective 
governments  a  report*  upon  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal 
in  which  the  question  of  diverting  lake  water  for  the  Chi- 
cago Drainage  Canal  and  Calumet-Sag  Channel  was  con- 
sidered, together  with  other  means  of  disposing  of  the 
sewage.  The  Commission  recommended  "that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  prohibit  the  diversion  of 
more  than  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second  for  the  Chicago 
Drainage  Canal."  So  far  as  the  availability  of  other 
means  of  disposal  for  the  sewage  was  concerned,  the  Com- 
mission stated,  p.  16  of  its  report: 

"A  careful  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  leads  us 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  diversion  of  10,000  cubic  feet  per 
second  through  the  Chicago  river  will,  with  proper  treatment 
of  the  sewage  from  areas  now  sparsely  occupied,  provide  for 
all  the  population  which  will  then  be  tributary  to  that  river, 
and  that  the  amount  named  will,  therefore,  suffice  for  the  sani- 
tary purposes  of  the  city  for  all  times." 


*Report  of  the  International  Waterways  Commission  to  the  Honorable 
Secretary  of  War  of  the  United  States  and  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  Public 
Works  of  Canada,  January  4,  1907. 


THE  LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY  133 

By  "areas  now  sparsely  occupied"  the  Commission 
meant  to  include  the  Calumet. 

The  opinion  of  the  International  Waterways  Com- 
mission as  to  the  practicability  of  disposing  of  the  sewage 
by  other  means  than  by  flushing  it  through  the  Calumet- 
Sag  Channel  was  largely  based  upon  the  conclusions 
stated  after  an  investigation  had  been  made  into  the  situ- 
ation by  the  firm  of  Rudolph  Hering  and  George  W. 
Fuller,  Consulting  Engineers.  The  instructions  to  these 
experts  are  stated  on  p.  12  of  the  Commission's  report  as 
follows: 

"To  examine  the  sanitary  situation  at  Chicago,  so  far  as 
it  is  affected  by  sewage  disposal,  and  to  report  whether  it  is 
not  necessary  to  the  health  of  the  city  to  extend  to  outlying 
territory  the  system  which  was  adopted  in  1889  for  the  main 
city.  *  *  *  The  Commission  desires  an  emphatic  opinion 
from  authoritative  sources  as  to  whether  the  system  of  divert- 
ing the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  in  large  quantities  into  the 
Illinois  valley  is  the  only  way  to  preserve  the  lives  and  health 
of  the  people  of  Chicago.  It  does  not  desire  an  investigation 
of  the  effect  upon  the  navigation  interests  of  the  Great  Lakes. 
It  has  satisfied  itself  upon  that  point.  Nor  does  it  wish  to 
reopen  the  case  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal  as  designed 
and  built.  It  accepts  that  as  a  fixed  fact,  with  its  attendant 
diversion  of  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second  through  the  Chicago 
river.  The  extension  of  the  system  to  the  Calumet  is  alone  in 
question,  and  the  question  is,  Are  there  not  other  methods  of 
sewage  disposal  which  can  be  applied  here  at  a  cost  not  ex- 
ceeding much,  if  at  all,  the  cost  of  the  method  proposed,  and 
which  will  be  equally  effective  in  preventing  the  pollution  of 
the  lake?  It  desires  a  report  upon  the  various  systems  which 
may  be  found  available  for  application  here,  with  a  statement 
of  their  relative  efficiency.  It  also  desires  a  statement  of  their 
relative  cost,  so  far  as  that  can  be  given,  without  the  prepara- 
tion of  detailed  plans.  The  latest  conclusions  of  sanitary  en- 
gineers as  to  the  amount  of  dilution  which  is  required  to  make 
sewage  inoffensive  should  be  given." 

In  their  report,  which  was  presented  to  the  Interna- 
tional Waterways  Commission  in  1906,*  Messrs.  Hering 
and  Fuller  stated  that  the  extension  of  Chicago's  dilution 

*Report  of  the  International  Waterways  Commission,  January  4,  1907,  Ap- 
pendix F.  Report  on  the  Disposal  of  Sewage  of  Chicago  and  Vicinity,  by  Ru- 
dolph Hering  and  George  W.  Fuller,  December  18,  1906,  pp.  42-54. 


134          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

scheme  was  not  the  only  way  to  dispose  of  the  Calumet 
sewage  and  that  "For  the  Calumet  River,  as  well  as  other 
districts,  there  are  several  methods  for  the  disposal  of 
sewage,  as  effective  as  the  present  method  of  dilution  in 
preventing  the  pollution  of  the  lake  waters." 

At  the  time  this  report  was  made  the  population  in 
the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  draining  to  the  Calumet 
exceeded  100,000.  The  population  had  nearly  doubled 
within  six  years  and  was  expected  to  reach  a  million 
within  a  comparatively  short  period.  The  population  in 
the  area  tributary  to  the  Chicago  River  drainage  area 
would  eventually  exceed  the  4,200,000  estimate  for  which 
the  utmost  capacity  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal  had 
been  provided.  The  "dilution  method  would  certainly  not 
alone  for  all  time  take  care  of  the  crude  sewage  of  this 
region." 

The  Calumet-Sag  Channel  would  not  be  nearly  as  ef- 
fective in  reversing  the  flow  of  the  Calumet  River  as  the 
Chicago  Drainage  Canal  had  been  in  reversing  the  flow  of 
the  Chicago  River  and  the  protection  of  the  lake  water 
supplies  would  be  less.  The  Calumet-Sag  could  not  keep 
all  sewage  out  of  Lake  Michigan  at  times  of  heavy  rain- 
fall. 

The  solution  of  the  Calumet  problem  which  was  sug- 
gested was  not  the  construction  of  the  Calumet-Sag 
Channel,  but  the  purification  of  the  sewage  in  accordance 
with  modern  scientific  methods,  together  with  the  filtra- 
tion of  that  part  of  the  water  supply  which  was  within 
the  range  of  pollution  from  the  Calumet  River.  For  treat- 
ment, the  sewage  should  be  collected  by  means  of  inter- 
cepting sewers  and  pumping  stations.  The  report  says, 
pp.  47-48: 

"In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  proposed  Calumet  canal  can 
not  keep  all  sewage  out  of  Lake  Michigan  at  times  of  heavy 
rainfall,  it  is  important  to  note  that  the  water  supply  of  this 
section  of  Chicago  will  eventually  have  to  be  purified  by  mod- 
ern filtration  works.  This  can  be  done  at  moderate  cost,  and 
it  will  be  the  cheapest  and  best  solution  of  this  problem  ta 
filter  the  water  supply  of  this  district  and  to  purify  the  sewage 
to  such  a  degree  that  the  effluent  will  be  fairly  clean  and  non- 


THE  LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY  135 

putrescible,  that  is,  free  from  disagreeable  odors.  With  addi- 
tional expense,  the  sewage  effluent  (of  the  quality  just  stated) 
can  be  given  a  supplementary  purification,  making  it  practically 
free  of  bacteria  by  treating  it  with  a  germicide  or  by  filtrating 
it  according  to  water  filtration  practice. 

Under  existing  conditions  we  are  firmly  of  the  opinion 
that  all  the  purification  required  of  the  sewage  of  the  Calumet 
district  is  to  make  it  fairly  clean  and  non-putrescible." 

The  sewage  would  be  screened,  passed  through  sep- 
tic tanks  and  then  applied  to  intermittent  sand  filters, 
contact  filters  or  sprinkling  filters.  The  estimates  were 
based  on  a  population  of  1,200,000  at  130  gallons  per  head 
and  an  allowance  of  1,000  gallons  per  square  mile  per  day, 
the  total  volume  being  340,000,000.  The  estimates  for 
construction  and  operation  (the  latter  capitalized  at  5 
per  cent.)  were  for  intermittent  sand  filters,  $28,383,000; 
for  contact  filters,  $22,807,500,  and  for  sprinkling  filters, 
$17,637,500.  The  present  population  for  the  Calumet  area 
of  the  Sanitary  District  being  less  than  200,000  would  re- 
quire but  a  part  of  the  work  to  be  done  and  the  cost  would 
be  correspondingly  small. 

Three  sites  for  the  works  which  were  available  and 
suitable  were:  A  tract  west  of  Harvey  and  between  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Rock  Island  railroads;  a  tract  west 
of  Hammond  and  the  local  branch  of  the  Fort  Wayne 
Railroad  and  a  tract  between  Lake  Calumet  and  Lake 
Wolf. 

6.— MR.   HERING'S   REPORT   IN   FAVOR   OF   THE   CALU- 
MET-SAG CHANNEL. 

On  October  15,  1907,  Mr.  Hering  made  a  report  to 
the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  in  which  he  advocated 
the  construction  of  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel  as  afford- 
ing a  more  economical  solution  of  the  Calumet  sewage 
problem  than  the  purification  of  the  sewage  by  sprinkling 
filters  and  for  "other  advantages  of  more  or  less  weight. " 
Among  these  advantages  were  the  practicability  of  using 
the  channel  for  purposes  of  navigation,  and  for  the  supply 
of  water  for  the  development  of  power  at  the  electric 
works  of  the  Sanitary  District  at  Lockport. 


136          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

The  report  was  intended  to  express  the  author's  opin- 
ion as  to  the  most  desirable  method  of  disposing  of  the 
sewage  "without  causing  a  nuisance  or  pollution  of  the 
lake  water,  irrespective  of  previous  recommendations  or 
legal  restrictions."  Two  alternatives  were  discussed- 
treatment  by  sprinkling  filters  and  disposal  through  dilu- 
tion by  means  of  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel. 

Disposal  by  dilution  was  advocated  for  the  reason, 
among  others,  that  "the  dilution  method  of  sewage  purifi- 
cation being  the  prevailing  one  and  the  oldest  one  in  use, 
is  thoroughly  known  as  to  what  it  can  do  and  what  it  can- 
not do."  There  was  some  uncertainty  about  sprinkling 
filters,  especially  in  northern  climates.  "A  final  disposi- 
tion of  sewage  by  diluting  it  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
running  water  had  the  advantage  of  simplicity  in  opera- 
tion and  required  less  care  and  labor  than  treatment 
works." 

The  estimates  of  cost  of  sprinkling  filters  and  dis- 
posal by  dilution  through  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel  for 
a  population  of  1,200,000,  as  given  in  the  report  to  the 
International  Waterways  Commission  were  reported  in 
the  report  to  the  Sanitary  District  and  supplemented  by 
estimates  for  a  population  of  300,000.  Those  estimates 
were  then  compared  with  the  cost  of  the  Calumet-Sag 
Channel  on  the  basis  of  a  flow  of  2,000  cubic  feet  per  sec- 
ond, which,  at  the  legal  rate  of  dilution,  was  expected  to 
be  able  to  dispose  of  the  sewage  of  300,000  population. 

The  sprinkling  filter  proposition  was  estimated  to 
cost  $4,761,000  for  a  population  of  300,000  and  $9,257,500 
for  a  population  of  1,200,000.  The  channel  proposition 
was  estimated  to  cost  $15,533,000  for  a  population  of  300,- 
ooo  and  $15,705,500  for  a  population  of  1,200,000.  The 
operating  costs  were,  for  the  sprinkling  filters  plan  $360,- 
240  and  $900,300,  respectively.  In  estimating  the  annual 
cost  of  the  channel  scheme  the  cost  of  electric  power 
which  was  to  be  developed  at  Lockport  was  regarded  as  a 
proper  credit,  and  with  this  deduction,  an  annual  cost  was 
arrived  at  of  $128,800  for  a  population  of  300,000  and  an' 
annual  cost  of  $230,600  for  a  population  of  1,200,000. 


THE  LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY  137 

The  expenses  of  the  two  projects  were  then  estimated 
as  on  a  total  annual  cost  basis — that  is,  made  up  of  oper- 
ating expenses  and  fixed  charges  for  interest,  allowance 
being  made  for  the  revenue  to  be  derived  from  the  sale 
of  power  in  the  channel  scheme  and  no  return  credited  to 
the  treatment  works.  For  the  populations  given,  the  two 
projects  were  then  compared  as  follows:  For  a  popula- 
tion of  300,000,  sprinkling  filters  would  cost  $360,240  and 
the  channel  would  cost  $384,000.  For  a  population  of 
1,200,000,  sprinkling  filters  would  cost  $900,300  and  the 
canal  $490,900. 

Power  could  be  derived  from  the  water  and  sewage 
mixture  discharged  by  the  channel  not  only  at  Lockport, 
but  at  Joliet,  and  if  this  was  wholly  utilized  and  the 
product  credited,  the  cost  of  the  channel  would  be  still 
further  reduced. 

A  large  part  of  the  report  is  devoted  to  considerations 
favorable  to  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel  and  to  arrange- 
ments intended  to  meet  criticism  which  had  been  brought 
against  it,  notable  among  which  were  the  objections  of  the 
International  Joint  Commission. 

7.— INEFFECTIVENESS    OF    THE    CALUMET-SAG    SOLU- 
TION. 

The  objects  which  it  was  intended  should  be  accom- 
plished by  the  construction  of  the  Chicago  Drainage 
Canal  were  the  protection  of  the  lake  against  sewage,  the 
prevention  of  nuisance  in  the  Chicago  River  and  the  final 
disposal  of  the  sewage.  These  objects  were  to  be  accom- 
plished at  one  stroke  by  the  building  of  a  canal  between 
the  Chicago  and  Illinois  Rivers  of  such  size  as  to  be  capa- 
ble of  reversing  the  flow  of  the  Chicago  River  at  all  times 
so  that  instead  of  discharging  into  Lake  Michigan,  it 
would  flow  in  the  opposite  direction,  drawing  pure  water 
from  the  lake  to  mix  with  and  purify  the  sewage.  For  this 
project  to  be  successful  the  original  promoters  thought 
that  the  flood  of  waters  should  be  diverted  and  toward 
this  end  expected  that  the  North  Branch  of  the  Chicago 
River  and  the  Desplaines,  which  sometimes  overflowed 


138          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

into  the  South  Branch  of  the  Chicago  River,  should  be  cut 
off  and  sent  directly  to  the  lake,  well  to  the  north  of  the 
City.  With  this  diversion  the  Drainage  Channel  was  to 
have  the  capacity  of  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second  which  it 
has  now. 

The  Calumet-Sag  proposition  is  in  no  sense  a  dupli- 
cate of  the  Chicago  solution.  The  drainage  area  is  greater 
and  the  Canal  smaller.  The  size  and  distribution  of  the 
population  to  be  served  is  not  comparable  in  the  two  cases 
and  the  hydrographic  conditions  are  dissimilar.  The  flood 
discharge  of  the  Calumet  is  supposed  to  be  about  15,000 
feet  or  over  seven  times  the  capacity  of  the  channel  as  it 
is  intended  to  be  built  at  first.  It  is  doubtless  possible  to 
cut  off  a  large  part  of  the  flood  flow  from  the  upper  arms 
of  the  Calumet,  but  this  is  not  a  part  of  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict's plan  so  far  as  the  reports  and  estimates  of  cost 
indicate. 

If  the  flood  waters  are  not  diverted,  the  lake  will  not 
be  protected  against  pollution,  for  there  will  be  discharges 
of  the  river  into  the  lake  at  times  of  storm  which  are  cer- 
tain to  carry  accumulations  of  filth  into  it,  not  to  mention 
the  washings  of  the  streets  and  premises  of  the  residence 
and  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  region. 

At  ordinary  stages  of  the  Calumet  River  the  reversal 
of  flow  of  the  current  will  be  very  slow  and  quite  insuffi- 
cient either  to  keep  deposits  from  forming  or  to  keep  the 
river  looking  clean  and  wholesome.  The  rate  of  flow  in  a 
channel  200  feet  wide  and  20  feet  deep  caused  by  a  dis- 
charge of  2,000  cubic  feet  per  second  is  less  than  %  foot 
per  second,  or  less  than  1-3  mile  per  hour.  At  this  rate,  it 
would  take  lake  water  36  hours  to  get  to  the  channel  if  it 
proceeded  in  the  most  direct  and  expeditious  manner  pos- 
sible. 

If  the  flood  waters  are  diverted,  it  is  by  no  means 
apparent  that  the  Sag  Channel  will  prove  to  be  a  valu- 
able means  of  purifying  the  sewage  which  is  discharged 
into  it.  The  diluting  water  will  not  have  the  same 
capacity  for  purifying  the  sewage  as  unpolluted  lake  water 
possesses,  for  it  will  not  be  so  clean.  The  distance  from 


THE  LAKE  LEVELS  CONTROVERSY  139 

the  lake  to  the  entrance  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Channel 
is  about  5  miles;  from  the  lake  to  the  head  of  the  Sag 
Channel  is  more  than  three  times  that  distance.  There 
are,  at  most,  three  possible  sources  for  the  water  to  come 
from,  besides  Lake  Michigan:  The  South  Calumet,  the 
Grand  Calumet  and  Lake  Calumet.  The  particular  source 
which  would  be  effective  at  any  time  would  probably  de- 
pend largely  upon  the  wind  and  rainfall. 

If  the  water  came  directly  from  Lake  Michigan,  it 
would  unquestionably  be  polluted  to  some  extent  by  the 
drainage  of  the  industrial  establishments  and  if  it  was  de- 
rived from  any  of  the  other  sources  it  would  have  a  load 
of  organic  matter  from  the  swamps  and  alluvial  deposits 
for  the  dissolved  oxygen  to  deal  with. 

There  are  a  number  of  towns  in  the  Calumet  water- 
shed which  are  in  the  State  of  Indiana  and  unless  this 
sewage  is  disposed  of  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  no  works 
which  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  can  build  will 
wholly  solve  the  Calumet  problem.  This  has  been  recog- 
nized by  the  Sanitary  District  and  negotiations  were  car- 
ried on  for  some  time  looking  to  the  disposal  of  this  sew- 
age through  the  Calumet  Canal,  but  the  proposition  was 
voted  down  by  the  Indiana  residents. 

The  ultimate  population  to  be  expected  in  the  Calu- 
met District  is  far  in  excess  of  the  1,200,000  which  the 
largest  capacity  of  the  Sag  Channel  which  has  been  esti- 
mated is  intended  to  provide  for.  Sewage  treatment  tanks 
will  therefore  be  needed  eventually  whether  the  channel  is 
built  or  not. 

In  case  the  suit  brought  by  the  United  States  to  re- 
strict the  diversion  of  Lake  Michigan  water  results  in  an 
allowance  of  10,000  cubic  feet  or  less,  any  water  which  the 
Calumet-Sag  Channel  takes  will  be  at  the  expense  of  Chi- 
cago, which  certainly  needs  all  the  dilution  which  it  can 
get  for  its  sewage. 

The  Calumet-Sag  Channel  will  add  materially  to  the 
total  weight  of  organic  matter  which  is  discharged  into 
the  Illinois  Valley  and  from  what  appears  to  be  the  prob- 
able condition  of  the  water  which  will  be  available  for  this 


140          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

channel,  the  dilution  will  not  compensate  for  this  added 
load.  The  damages  obtained  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Illinois  Valley  against  the  Sanitary  District  for  flooding, 
which  already  amount  to  a  large  figure,  are  certain  to  be 
increased  by  reason  of  the  greater  volume  of  water  sent 
down. 

There  is  apparently  no  evidence  in  any  of  the  reports 
which  deal  with  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel  project  that 
the  rights  and  sanitary  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  Illinois 
Valley  have  been  investigated  or  considered. 


Part  VII 

AVAILABLE  PROCESSES  FOR  TREATING 
THE  SEWAGE 

It  is  probable  that  all  who  have  an  unbiased  technical 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  apprehend  that  the  time  has 
come  when  Chicago's  sewage  will  have  to  be  purified  to 
some  extent.  Whether  the  treatment  is  to  be  restricted 
to  the  removal  of  suspended  solids  from  the  sewage,  or 
beyond  that  stage,  it  is  impossible  -to  say  with  certainty 
at  the  present  time.  The  most  careful  consideration  will 
be  required  to  determine  how  much  or  how  little  purifica- 
tion is  essential  in  order  to  maintain  reasonably  clean 
water  in  the  Drainage  Canal  and  the  rivers  into  which  it 
flows  and  where  it  is  feasible  and  desirable  to  construct 
treatment  plants. 

A  description  of  all  the  methods  of  sewage  disposal 
which  are  now  employed  in  different  parts  of  the  world 
is  too  wide  a  subject  to  discuss  properly  within  the  space 
of  this  report;  nevertheless,  it  may  be  of  some  value  to  call 
attention  to  several  of  the  more  important  methods,  bear- 
ing in  mind  that  in  dealing  with  the  proposition  of  how 
best  to  treat  the  sewage  of  Chicago,  it  would  obviously 
be  useless  to  dwell  upon  processes  which  are  not  applicable 
to  large  cities. 

Methods  for  the  disposal  of  sewage  may  be  divided 
into  two  great  classes:  those  whose  object  it  is  to  remove 
the  solid  matters  and  those  which  are  intended  to  deal 
more  particularly  with  the  liquids.  For  the  removal  of 
the  solids,  the  most  common  devices  are  grit  chambers, 
screens  and  sedimentation  basins.  For  the  treatment  of 
the  liquid  portion,  various  types  of  oxidizing  filters  are 
employed  or  the  sewage  is  applied  to  land.  Complete 

141 


142          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

treatment  usually  means  a  combination  of  some  process 
for  the  removal  of  the  solids  and  some  means  for  the  oxid- 
ation of  the  liquids.  The  liquids  cannot  well  be  treated 
until  the  solids  have  first  been  removed. 

The  solids  which  are  removed  form  grit,  screenings 
or  sludge,  according  to  their  consistency  and  method  of 
removal.  The  product  of  oxidizing  filters  is  nearly  all 
liquid  and  flows  off  in  the  treated  sewage.  The  oxygen 
is  obtained  automatically  from  the  atmosphere  and  is 
made  to  combine  with  the  organic  matter  of  the  sewage 
by  means  of  bacteria  which  grow  naturally  on  the  surface 
of  the  particles  of  filtering  material. 

In  exceptional  cases,  sewage  is  disinfected,  the  means 
of  disinfection  usually  being  chlorinated  lime  or  some 
other  chemical  germicide.  The  treatment  of  sewage  rarely 
proceeds  to  the  point  of  rendering  the  sewage  pure  like 
drinking  water,;  the  cost  and  care  required  to  accomplish 
this  purpose  generally  being  beyond  what  the  situation 
calls  for.  The  usual  object  in  building  sewage  works  is  to 
prepare  the  sewage  for  discharge  into  some  water  course 
which  would  become  offensive  to  the  senses  if  the  sewage 
was  discharged  into  it  in  crude  form.  All  sewage  must  be 
discharged,  whether  purified  or  not,  into  some  river  or 
lake  or  arm  of  the  sea,  for  there  is  no  other  way  to  get  rid 
of  the  water  of  which  it  is  so  largely  composed.  No  less 
than  998  parts  of  sewage  in  1,000  are  water,  the  rest  being 
made  up  of  an  endless  variety  of  mineral  and  organic  sub- 
stances. 

There  is  no  one  best  method  of  sewage  disposal  any 
more  certainly  than  there  is  one  best  way  to  build  a  bridge 
or  a  railroad  or  a  public  water  supply.  The  best  design 
is  the  one  which  is  best  adapted  to  the  local  circumstances 
and  accomplishes  the  desired  end  in  the  most  economical 
manner. 

1.— REMOVAL    OF   THE    SUSPENDED    MATTER. 

Generally  speaking,  the  amount  of  impurity  in  sew- 
age due  to  suspended  matter  exceeds  one-half  of  the  total 
impurity.  Proportions  vary,  of  course,  in  different  local- 


AVAILABLE   PROCESSES  FOR  TREATING  THE   SEWAGE          143 

ities,  but  the  desirability  of  eliminating  as  much  of  the  sus- 
pended matter  as  possible  within  reasonable  limits  of  ex- 
pense is  obvious.  So  general  and  so  emphatic  is  this  view 
becoming  amongst  experts  that  few  would  even  suggest 
the  discharge  of  crude  sewage  into  the  sea  until  after  the 
most  careful  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  relat- 
ing to  health  and  sense  of  decency. 

In  discussing  available  methods  of  treating  the  sew- 
age, it  should  be  assumed  that  the  elimination  of  solids 
in  suspension  is  an  essential  feature,  and  preliminary  to 
every  other  method  which  has  so  far  been  established  on 
a  firm  basis. 

How  far  the  removal  of  the  solids  would  go  toward 
the  solving  of  the  sewage  problem  it  is  not  possible  to  say, 
but  that  it  might  be  all  that  would  be  required  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  sewage,  at  least  for  a  long  period  of 
years,  is  quite  probable.  The  necessary  works  could  be 
so  built  that  if,  at  a  later  date,  it  became  necessary  to  em- 
ploy some  method  of  further  purification,  this  could  be 
done  with  little  loss  or  change  of  the  constructed  works. 

There  are  two  general  ways  in  which  the  works  which 
would  be  necessary  for  the  elimination  of  the  solids  could 
be  employed:  they  might  be  constructed  near  the  ends  of 
the  present  main  sewers,  with  outlets  discharging  well  be- 
low the  surface  of  the  existing  waterways  or  the  sewage 
could  be  collected  into  intercepting  sewers  which  would 
lead  to  points  where  the  necessary  works  would  be  located. 
It  is  not  necessary  or  desirable  to  collect  all  the  sewage  to 
one  point  for  treatment,  and  the  cost  of  doing  so  would  be 
enormous.  It  will  be  far  better  to  deal  with  the  sewage  of 
different  parts  of  the  city  at  different  places  and  probably 
in  different  ways,  according  to  the  local  requirements  and 
opportunities.  Apparently  there  should  be  one  large  sta- 
tion located  well  to  the  west  of  the  city  and  several  smaller 
ones  elsewhere. 

The  precise  nature  and  location  of  the  works  which 
will  be  required  it  is  impossible  to  forecast  until  exhaus- 
tive investigations  into  all  the  circumstances  have  been 


144          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

made,  and  it  is  with  this  salient  feature  of  the  case  always 
in  mind  that  suggestions  are  here  offered. 

2.— SCREENS. 

On  all  large  works  it  is  found  advisable  to  have  widely 
spaced  bar  gratings  between  the  outfall  sewer  and  the  grit 
chamber.  Such  a  grid  is  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
taining pieces  of  wood,  cloths,  scrubbing  brushes,  old 
boots,  etc.,  which  otherwise  would  interfere  with  any  ma- 
chinery used  for  removing  the  grit  from  the  pit. 

Sometimes  fine  screens  are  employed  at  this  stage  of 
the  process  to  keep  back  organic,  as  well  as  inorganic,  mat- 
ter. The  advisability  of  this  course  is  open  to  question, 
and  must  remain  open  until  the  engineer  has  had  ample 
opportunity  of  considering  his  design  as  a  whole  in  its  re- 
lation to  details,  but  it  may  be  helpful  to  direct  attention 
to  a  phase  of  the  question  which  is  frequently  lost  sight  of, 
viz.,  the  increased  foulness  of  the  liquid  after  it  passes 
through  fine  and  even  medium  screens.  This  may  not  be 
of  vital  importance  at  Dresden,  where  the  Riensch  Disc 
Screen  is  in  operation,  but  it  has  been  found  to  be  of  great 
importance  where  complaints  of  malodor  have  occurred, 
as,  for  example,  at  Birmingham,  where  Smith  Revolving 
Screens  were  once  in  operation.  The  revolving  brush 
employed  to  remove  fecal  matter  from  the  screen  tended 
to  close  up  the  perforations  through  which  the  sewage  had 
to  pass,  thus  imparting  foulness  and  increasing  the 
strength  of  the  sewage  and  rendering  it  less  amenable  to 
rapid  oxidation. 

Another  obvious  disadvantage  in  passing  the  whole 
of  the  sewage  through  screens  before  it  is  allowed  to  settle 
in  grit  chambers  or  settling  basins,  is  the  enormous  in- 
crease in  the  amount  of  work  which  the  screens  are  called 
upon  to  do,  seeing  that  but  for  the  interposition  of  the 
screens,  the  solid  matter  would  settle  readily  in  the  basin 
to  be  removed  in  bulk  at  intervals  of  days  or  weeks,  as 
might  be  found  convenient,  instead  of  having  to  be  taken 
from  the  face  of  the  screen  as  it  arrives  at  all  times  of  th$ 
day  and  night. 


AVAILABLE  PROCESSES  FOR  TREATING  THE   SEWAGE          145 

3.— GRIT  CHAMBERS. 

An  essential  part  of  all  treatment  works  is  the  grit 
chamber,  or  detritus  pit,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  chief 
function  of  which  is  to  arrest  heavy  road  grit  and  lighter 
solids  which  become  entangled  with  it,  thus  saving  the 
pumps,  etc.,  which  would  otherwise  suffer  if  an  undue 
proportion  of  gritty  matter  were  allowed  to  pass  through 
them. 

It  is  difficult  to  lay  down  hard  and  fast  rules  as  to 
the  capacity  of  grit  chambers  in  any  scheme  without 
knowing  definitely  the  size  and  gradient  of  the  outfall 
sewers,  as  well  as  other  equally  pertinent  data,  but  it  may 
be  taken  as  a  general  principle  that  the  capacity  should  be 
about  1,500  cubic  feet  per  million  gallons,  that  the  rate  of 
flow  (about  3  inches  per  second)  through  one  tank  should 
proximate  the  needs  of  the  maximum  dry  weather  flow 
of  any  ordinary  day,  and  that  an  additional  grit  chamber 
should  be  built  to  correspond  with  every  dry  weather  flow 
volume  which  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  treat. 

For  example,  six  grit  chambers  would  be  built  if  it 
were  found  desirable  to  treat  up  to  six  times  the  dry 
weather  flow.  In  the  case  of  Chicago,  this  volume  would 
be  considerably  in  excess  of  what  is  necessary.  There 
should,  however,  be  not  fewer  than  three  grit  chambers 
in  a  large  installation,  in  order  to  provide  opportunity  for 
emptying  and  effecting  repairs  to  the  dredging  machinery 
used  in  cleaning,  without  interfering  with  the  regular 
process  of  treatment. 

To  illustrate  the  need  of  obtaining  exact  information 
before  adopting  a  specific  scheme,  it  should  be  stated  that 
there  may  be  a  disadvantage  in  attempting  to  eliminate 
all  the  particles  of  road  grit,  if  the  subsequent  treatment 
of  the  sludge  is  to  include  pressing.  The  inorganic  matter 
present  in  sludge  tends  to  incorporate  with  it  the  finer 
organic  particles  and  so  establish  a  better  drainage  of  the 
water  from  the  pressed  sludge  than  would  be  possible  if 
the  sludge  were  composed  only  of  very  fine  particles. 


146          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

4.— SEDIMENTATION  TANKS. 

The  removal  of  suspended  matter  should  be  regarded 
as  a  physical  and  economic  necessity  in  every  scheme. 
Since  it  is  cheaper  to  remove  solids  from  a  tank  or  screen 
than  from  any  other  part  of  a  purification  plant,  they 
should  be  so  removed.  The  fresher  the  sewage,  and,  con- 
sequently, the  nearer  the  treatment  works  to  the  origin  of 
the  sewage,  the  better  are  the  results  from  screening  and 
sedimentation.  Again,  the  more  suspended  solids  (espe- 
cially inorganic  matter)  in  the  sewage,  the  higher  is  the 
percentage  of  sludge  obtained  in  tanks  from  the  volume 
of  sewage  treated. 

Sedimentation  tanks  should  be  designed  with  a  view 
to  securing  the  maximum  amount  of  clarification  and  the 
highest  speed  of  sludge  removal.  There  are  many  types, 
but  for  large  works  located  in  an  isolated  place,  where  it 
is  unnecessary  to  think  of  roofing  them  over,  it  will  prob- 
ably be  found  that  the  horizontal  flat  bottomed  type  is  the 
most  efficient.  They  should  be  designed  to  facilitate  rapid 
emptying  and  cleaning,  and  should  have  capacity  equal  to 
a  resting  period  of  about  three  to  four  hours  for  the  aver- 
age dry  weather  flow.  Continuous  flow  versus  quiescent 
settlement  should  also  be  the  subject  of  careful  local  study, 
although  the  experience  of  other  cities  should  not  be  lost 
sight  of. 

Whether  the  tanks  should  be  used  in  parallel  or  in 
series  requires  knowledge  of  the  particular  sewage  and 
other  local  conditions.  On  a  large  installation  it  is  gen- 
erally found  that  the  work  can  be  done  best  on  the  con- 
tinuous flow  method,  and  by  working  the  tanks  in  parallel, 
provided  the  subdividing  walls  are  sufficiently  numerous 
and  sufficiently  governed  by  sluice  valves  or  penstocks  to 
enable  the  work  of  cleansing  to  be  carried  on  without 
undue  interruption  of  the  continuity  of  the  process. 

To  obtain  a  really  good  tank  effluent — and  by  that  is 
meant  sedimentation  equal  to  the  elimination  of  about  70 
per  cent  of  the  suspended  solids — it  will  be  necessary  to 
adopt  the  principle  of  providing  a  certain  number  of  spar£ 


AVAILABLE  PROCESSES  FOR  TREATING  THE   SEWAGE          147 

tanks,  in  order  to  cope  with  sudden  increases  of  flow.  The 
best  results  are  obtained  from  tanks  which  are  cleaned  fre- 
quently, say  every  fortnight  in  cold  weather,  and  every 
week  when  the  temperature  in  the  shade  exceeds  70  deg. 
Fahr. 

The  question  of  odor  or  aerial  nuisance  should  not  be 
ignored,  and  the  scheme  should  be  consistent  in  its  de- 
tails. There  should  be  no  carelessness  which  will  permit 
the  sewage  to  septicise  on  its  way  to  the  treatment  works, 
and  then,  too  late,  anxiety  to  keep  down  septic  action. 
Contrariwise,  there  should  be  irritating  by-laws  to  insure 
good  house  drainage,  and  no  lavish  expenditures  of  public 
money  to  obtain  self-cleansing  velocities,  or  a  good  align- 
ment of  sewers  with  smooth  surfaces,  if  the  sewage  is  to 
be  septicised  the  moment  it  reaches  the  treatment  works. 

Consistency  in  design  should  be  paramount,  if  the 
design  is  to  be  built  on  a  sound  foundation.  Improve- 
ments in  detail  will,  no  doubt,  suggest  themselves  from 
time  to  time,  and  these  should  be  taken  advantage  of  as 
far  as  practicable. 

5.— CHEMICAL  PRECIPITATION. 

Sedimentation  tanks  are  readily  converted  into  chem- 
ical precipitation  tanks  by  the  addition  to  the  sewage  of, 
say,  milk  of  lime,  or  any  of  the  many  chemicals  now  used; 
but  whether  the  additional  cost  which  this  entails  is  war- 
ranted is  another  question.  This  process  is  capable  of  re- 
moving 85  per  cent  or  more  of  the  suspended  matter. 
That  the  use  of  chemicals  produces  a  very  large  addition 
to  the  amount  of  sludge  is  apparent.  When  a  ton  of  dry 
lime  is  added  to  sewage,  it  has  to  be  taken  out  as  ten  tons 
of  sludge,  and  the  finer  the  particles  of  lime  the  more  is 
the  amount  of  moisture  taken  up  by  them.  A  small  differ- 
ence in  the  percentage  in  its  weight,  as  may  be  understood 
from  the  fact  that  one  ton  of  sludge  with  80  per  cent  of 
water  corresponds  with  two  tons  with  90  per  cent  of  water 
and  four  tons  with  95  per  cent  of  water  so  far  as  the  actual 


148          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

amount  of  dry  solid  matter  (about  40  pounds)  contained 
in  each,  are  concerned. 

If  the  merits  of  tank  treatment  were  calculated  on  the 
cost  of  removing  a  ton  of  liquid  sludge,  chemical  precipita- 
tion would  appear  at  first  sight  to  possess  a  great  advan- 
tage, but  the  addition  of  so  much  solid  matter  in  the  shape 
of  dry  powder  merely  to  be  taken  out  again  in  the  form  of 
sludge  goes  far  to  neutralize  the  apparent  gain.  If  the 
calculation  is  made  on  the  basis  of  million  gallons  treated, 
the  consumption  of  water  unduly  influences  the  calcula- 
tion. In  any  case  the  volume  of  sewage  is  due  primarily 
to  the  water  supply,  which  varies  between  wide  limits  in 
different  cities,  being  30  gallons  per  head  in  London  and 
213  in  Chicago,  and  secondarily,  to  the  infiltration  of 
ground  water  into  the  sewers  and  to  trade  wastes. 
Volume  of  sludge,  however,  bears  no  relation  to  water 
supply,  but  has  a  direct  relationship  to  the  number  of  per- 
sons contributing  to  the  sewerage  district. 

Much  detailed  information  is  required  before  one  is 
justified  in  determining  the  type  of  the  tanks  which  should 
be  employed,  and,  consequently,  the  cost  to  be  incurred. 

Under  certain  circumstances,  the  adoption  of  chem- 
icals is  fully  justified,  tending,  as  it  generally  does,  to  acce- 
lerate clarification,  to  relieve  the  oxidation  process  and, 
where  basic  phosphates,  etc.,  are  used,  to  enrich  the  sludge 
so  that  it  may  be  used  as  a  fertilizer.  But  the  tendency 
of  the  times  is  to  abandon  the  use  of  chemicals. 

6.— SLUDGE  DIGESTION  TANKS. 

The  single  story  septic  tank  is  usually  unsuitable  as 
a  constituent  of  a  plant  which  depends  to  any  extent  upon 
the  oxidation  of  the  sewage  by  means  of  dilution.  Fer- 
mentation and  sedimentation  are  usually  in  conflict,  and 
the  engineer  must  select  and  adhere  strictly  to  that  process 
which  in  his  judgment  will  harmonize  best  with  his  de- 
signs. If  he  aims  at,  and  has  the  means  of  obtaining,  com- 
plete septicization,  it  may  be  possible  to  render  organic 
sludge  inert  and  to  pass  over  the  outlet  weir  septic  liquor 


AVAILABLE  PROCESSES  FOR  TREATING  THE  SEWAGE          149 

without  drawing  off  at  the  same  time  large  pieces  of 
sludge  in  an  active  state  of  fermentation;  but  this  has 
never  been  done  anywhere  on  a  large  scale,  and  it  is  not 
recommended  for  Chicago. 

The  Emscher,  Imhoff  (or  two  story  tank)  is  in  a  dif- 
ferent category  as  it  is  capable  of  facilitating  the  conduct 
of  two  processes  at  one  time.  It  is  a  sedimentation  tank 
and  a  septic  tank  in  one  structure,  and  if  well  designed  is 
capable  of  efficient  work.  The  Imhoff  tank  is  better  than 
its  prototype,  the  Travis  tank,  and  well  worth  the  addi- 
tional cost. 

The  initial  cost  of  the  two  story  tank  is  its  greatest 
drawback,  and  this  very  fact  creates  a  temptation  to  limit 
the  area  and  capacity  of  the  upper  story  which,  if  made 
sufficiently  large,  should  serve  the  same  purpose  as  the 
best  designed  sedimentation  tank.  The  temptation  to 
economize  on  this  structure  creates  another  difficulty, 
namely,  inclination  to  provide  inadequately  for  excess 
flow  due  to  rainfall.  An  Emscher  tank,  when  called  upon 
to  do  no  more  than  it  is  designed  for,  namely,  an  unvary- 
ing flow  is,  barring  cost,  all  that  can  be  desired  in  this 
form  of  plant. 

7.— SEDIMENTATION  AND   DIGESTION. 

At  Birmingham,  the  processes  of  sedimentation  and 
sludge  digestion  are  carried  on  in  two  distinct  tanks — the 
sedimentation  tank  and  the  sludge-digestion  tank  side  by 
side  rather  than  one  on  the  top  of  the  other.  By  this 
means,  the  process  is  well  under  control,  the  cost  of  con- 
struction is  less,  and  the  results  are  not  dissimilar. 

There  are  advantages  and  disadvantages  in  both 
methods  and  the  engineer  must  appraise  them  in  deter- 
mining what  design  is  most  suited  to  his  special  circum- 
stances. Operating  costs  of  the  Imhoff  tank  are  less  than 
in  the  Birmingham  method,  but  the  latter  has  the  advan- 
tage of  lower  initial  cost.  The  separate  tank  system  is 
better  when  an  antiseptic  like  gas  tar  arrives  at  the  treat- 
ment works;  it  can  be  at  once  isolated  instead  of  being 
retained  automatically  in  the  under  story  of  the  Emscher 


150          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

tank,  where  it  would  tend  to  inhibit  the  action  of  the 
anaerobic  organisms. 

At  Birmingham,  the  sludge  digestion  tanks  are 
formed  of  a  combination  of  excavation  and  embankment 
built  without  lining  of  any  kind.  This  construction  is  suf- 
ficient so  far  as  ability  to  retain  the  sludge  is  concerned, 
but  it  is  not  convenient  for  thorough  and  complete  cleans- 
ing. Supply  and  draw-off  pipes,  with  appurtenant  valves, 
etc.,  form  the  chief  cost  of  this  installation  of  tanks.  Fre- 
quent pumping  of  sludge  from  the  sedimentation  tanks 
keeps  them  in  a  condition  best  suited  to  yield  a  tank  ef- 
fluent free  of  suspended  solids,  and  as  the  sludge  thus  re- 
moved is  distributed  over  a  number  of  digestion  tanks,  the 
burden  upon  each  is  limited. 

In  the  process  of  working  it  is  found  to  be  desirable  to 
pump  into  the  same  delivery  pipe  a  quantity  of  the  ripest 
sludge  from  a  digestion  tank  along  with  the  fresh  sludge 
above  referred  to  in  order  to  inoculate  the  fresh  sludge 
with  the  fermentation  organism  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment.  In  winter,  too,  steam  is  used  to  heat  the  sludge 
as  it  passes  along  the  delivery  pipe  on  its  way  to  the  diges- 
tion tanks.  These  tanks  are  so  completely  under  observa- 
tion and  control  that  there  is  no  excuse  for  pumping  to  the 
drying  area — which  is  more  than  four  miles  distant — any 
but  the  "ripest"  of  sludge.  Notwithstanding  the  large 
item  for  pumping,  the  whole  operation  from  beginning  to 
end — which  is  to  deposit  the  dry  briquettes  into  a  great 
heap  on  low  lying  ground — costs  only  three  cents  per 
person,  or  11.4  cents  per  ton,  against  London's  11.2  cents 
per  ton  and  Manchester's  13.8  cents  per  ton  for  dumping 
it  into  the  sea. 

Apart  from  the  hygienic  question  of  disposing  of 
sludge  without  nuisance,  there  is  an  economic  question 
which  is  still  unsettled,  and  may  be  expressed  by  the  ques- 
tion :  What  value,  if  any,  has  sludge  in  dried  form?  Even 
although  the  fermentation  process  militates  against  the 
retention  of  the  nitrogen  found  in  the  fresh  sludge,  there 
is  so  much  nitrogen  left  in  the  dry  septicised  sludge  that 


AVAILABLE  PROCESSES   FOR  TREATING  THE   SEWAGE          151 

it  can  be  made  profitable  in  some  instances  by  converting 
it  into  sulphate  of  ammonia. 

In  winter  it  is  difficult  to  dry  septic  sludge,  but  at  Bir- 
mingham the  drying  area,  which  is  50  acres  in  extent,  is 
gradually  filled  up  during  winter  as  the  sludge  ripens  in 
the  tanks.  Still  the  cost  of  providing  additional  capacity 
to  tide  over  this  season  has  to  be  taken  into  account,  and 
for  this  reason  the  denser  the  sludge  obtained  the  less 
storage  is  needed,  and  in  this  respect  the  deeper  the  diges- 
tion tank  (within  limits,  of  course)  the  better. 

8.— FINAL  DISPOSAL  OF  SLUDGE. 

The  problem  of  how  to  get  rid  of  fresh  unsepticised 
sludge  without  creating  a  nuisance  is  not  easy,  and  it  is 
not  less  expensive  as  a  rule  where  the  quantity  to  be  dis- 
posed of  is  large.  Where  the  city  is  small  and  surrounded 
by  arable  land,  the  sludge  may  be  got  rid  of  in  its  semi-dry 
state  by  selling  it  or  giving  it  to  farmers,  but  on  large 
works  it  is  found  that  sludge  accumulates  to  such  an  ex- 
tent when  the  season  is  unsuitable  for  farmers  to  lift  it 
that  they  refuse  to  remove  it  unless  well  paid  for  so  doing. 

Artificial  and  generally  proprietory  processes  have 
succeeded  in  overcoming  this  to  some  extent  by  drying  the 
sludge  to  a  powder  and  storing  it  in  bags  until  the  farmer 
either  has  need  for  it  or  time  to  cart  it  away. 

Other  methods  of  getting  rid  of  sludge  may  be  enu- 
merated as  follows: 

1.  Spreading  it  on  land,  and  digging  it  in  as  soon  as  it  be- 

comes spadeable; 

2.  Trenching  it,  or  running  it  into  long  trenches  about  3  feet 

wide  and  1  foot  deep ; 

3.  Lagooning,  or  simply  filling  up  depressions,  and  allowing 

it  to  remain  until  it  becomes,  by  thorough  fermenta- 
tion, an  inert  mass ; 

4.  Filter  pressing; 

5.  Manufacturing  into  manure. 

Spreading  sludge  over  land. — Where  this  has  been 
done,  the  sludge  has  generally  not  been  over  9  inches  in 
depth.  When  allowed  to  remain  until  it  has  become  suf- 


152          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

ficiently  dry  to  be  dug  into  the  ground  as  a  gardener  digs 
in  manure,  its  depth  has  been  reduced  to  about  4  or  4^ 
inches,  and  in  this  state  it  has  quickly  become  incorpo- 
rated with  the  soil,  rendering  it  friable.  Where  the  land 
has  been  made  up  of  stiff  clay,  the  sludge  has  converted 
it  into  a  good  arable  soil. 

Trenching. — The  trenching  process  resembles  the 
foregoing,  but  it  has  the  great  merit  of  being  more  under 
control  during  hot  weather,  for  if  it  is  necessary  that  the 
sludge  should  lie  for  a  short  time  before  it  is  dry  enough 
to  bear  the  weight  of  an  earth  covering,  it  is  easily  pro- 
tected from  the  sun's  rays  by  coarse  grass,  or  other  ma- 
terial of  that  kind.  In  this  way  nuisance  is  obviated. 

If  trenching  is  contemplated,  a  word  of  caution 
should  be  given  against  making  the  trench  deeper  than  for 
12  inches  of  liquid  sludge,  otherwise  the  nitirifying  organ- 
isms act  upon  it  but  slowly,  if  at  all. 

From  a  quarter  to  half  an  acre  of  good  land  will  take 
one  thousand  tons  of  sludge.  Half  to  one  acre  of  medium 
land  will  take  the  same  quantity,  and  probably  one  to  two 
acres  of  bad  land  will  be  needed  to  deal  with  one  thous- 
sand  tons  of  liquid  sludge  per  annum.  These  average  fig- 
ures will  not  work  out  so  favorably  in  exceptionally  wet 
seasons. 

Lagooning. — This  process  is  only  possible  where 
there  are  suitable  depressions  of  comparatively  waste  land 
available  for  the  purpose.  It  should  always  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  sludge  which  is  run  into  these  lagoons  be- 
comes an  emulsified  mass  impossible  of  complete  solidi- 
fication. Unless  the  process  is  very  carefully  watched,  it 
is  liable  to  become  a  nuisance,  and,  unless  in  exceptional 
cases,  should  be  avoided.  Indeed  it  can  only  be  regarded 
as  a  temporary  expedient  at  the  best. 

Filter  Pressing. — A  filter  pressing  plant  is  capable  of 
converting  five  tons  of  sloppy  matter  into  four  tons  of  very 
strong  sewage  and  one  ton  of  fairly  dry  cake,  the  latter 
then  being  in  a  form  in  which  it  is  easily  manipulated. 

The  modern  press  consists  of  moveable  rectangular 
cast  iron  plates.  The  surface  of  each  plate  is  covered  with 


AVAILABLE  PROCESSES   FOR  TREATING  THE   SEWAGE          153 

jute  cloth.  When  the  plates  are  brought  together,  a  space 
for  the  sludge  is  formed  between  them,  the  liquor  in  the 
sludge  is  forced  through  the  cloth,  the  sludge  being  re- 
tained. The  sludge  is  usually  conveyed  from  the  sludge 
well  to  the  presses  by  means  of  compressed  air,  the  power 
which  is  also  used  to  actuate  the  presses.  The  cost  of 
pressing  varies.  The  Royal  Commission  on  Sewage  Dis- 
posal, of  England,  give  the  cost  in  large  towns  at  from  50 
to  62  cents  per  ton  of  pressed  cake  (55  per  cent  water),  and 
in  the  case  of  small  towns,  with  a  population  under  30,000, 
the  price  is  given  as  from  93  cents  to  $1.43  per  ton  of 
pressed  cake  (55  per  cent  water).  In  a  few  cases  the 
farmers  pay  as  much  as  20  to  25  cents  per  ton  for  this  cake, 
but  in  most  parts  of  England  from  8  to  12  cents  per  ton  is 
the  usual  price. 

9.— UTILIZATION  OF  SLUDGE. 

Within  recent  years  there  has  been  a  distinct  tend- 
ency to  utilize  sludge  as  a  fertilizer,  and  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  each  adult  excretes  yearly  about  12  pounds  of 
nitrogen,  7  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  5  pounds  of 
potash,  worth  together  about  $2.62,*  it  is  seen  how  im- 
portant it  is  to  utilize  excremental  sludge  where  possible. 
The  sewage  of  Chicago  undoubtedly  contains  manurial 
substances  to  the  value  of  several  millions  of  dollars  per 
annum.  Of  course  it  is  obvious  that  all  of  this  valuable 
product  cannot  be  utilized,  for  a  large  part  of  the  manurial 
ingredients  are  present  in  solution,  and  for  the  rest,  dry 
conservancy  methods  are  unpleasant,  insanitary,  costly, 
and  repulsive  to  a  civilized  community,  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  because  the  water  carriage  system  is  in  vogue, 
no  part  of  this  manure  can  be  recovered.  Sewage  sludge, 
as  it  is  taken  from  the  settling  tanks,  contains  from  90  to 
95  per  cent  water,  so  that  for  every  ton  of  solid  matter  that 
is  taken  away,  about  twelve  tons  of  water  must  be  con- 
veyed with  it.  It  must,  therefore,  be  dried  before  it  can 

*Hall,  Fertilizers  and  Manures,  1909,  p.  224. 


154  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

become  useful  as  a  fertilizer,  or  at  least  made  sufficiently 
dry  to  allow  of  its  being  carted  on  to  the  land. 

In  a  few  cases  sludge  has  been  dried  to  a  much  greater 
extent.  For  example,  at  Glasgow,  where  the  product  is 
sold  as  "Globe  Fertilizer,"  and  at  Kingston-on-Thames, 
where  it  is  sold  as  "Native  Guano."  At  Bradford,  the 
sludge  is  heated  and  pressed  for  the  recovery  of  grease, 
and  the  resultant  cake  is  sent  to  France  as  a  fertilizer.  At 
Oldham,  the  grease  is  extracted  from  the  sludge  by  dis- 
tillation with  superheated  steam  and  the  dry  residue  sold 
as  a  fertilizer.  The  same  remark  applies  to  Huddersfield. 

The  Royal  Commission  on  Sewage  Disposal  carried 
out  certain  experiments  with  sewage  sludges,  the  results 
of  which  are  given  in  their  Fifth  Report,  Appendices  viii 
(1908)  and  iv  (1910).  Seven  different  sludges  were  used, 
all  in  a  dried  form,  containing  12  to  37  per  cent  water. 
They  concluded  that  sludge  does  not  appear  well  adapted 
for  root  crops,  but  should  prove  useful  for  grass  land. 
They  also  concluded  that  $2.50  per  ton  on  the  farm  is  an 
outside  figure  for  the  value  of  the  sludge. 

Practical  experience  on  a  large  scale  shows  that  many 
farmers  and  market  gardeners  in  the  neighborhood  of 
large  towns  can  show  the  marked  effect  which  the  use  of 
sludge  has  upon  their  crops,  and  one  cannot  but  note  the 
great  sale  for  dried  sludge  at  Bradford.  This  is  sent  to 
France,  although  the  carriage  costs  $4.00  per  ton,  and 
some  of  the  same  sludge  has  been  sold  to  the  Argentine 
and  to  the  United  States. 

In  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Maclean  Wilson,  of  the  West 
Riding  of  Yorkshire  Rivers  Board — who  has  given  this 
question  a  good  deal  of  study — it  may  be  confidently  as- 
sumed that  in  a  very  short  time  sludge  which  is  now 
wasted  or  given  away  will  be  disposed  of  at  a  price  which 
will  pay  for  its  preparation,  and  at  the  same  time  make  it 
profitable  for  the  agriculturist,  and  in  a  recent  report,  one 
of  the  Board  of  Experts,  Mr.  Watson,  speaks  well  of  the 
Dublin  process,  which  includes  fortifying  the  organic 
matter  with  potash  and  phosphates.  Wherever  the  sludge 
contains  over  2^/2  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  the  engineer  should 


AVAILABLE  PROCESSES   FOR  TREATING  THE   SEWAGE          155 

consider  carefully  whether  he  is  justified  in  throwing  it 
away. 

According  to  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Commis- 
sion of  New  York,  which  made  a  thorough  study  of  the 
possibilities  of  utilizing  sludge  under  favorable  conditions 
as  to  transportation,  a  sludge  containing  50  per  cent  mois- 
ture, whose  dried  material  contains  3  per  cent  of  ammonia 
and  less  than  10  per  cent  of  grease,  may  be  further  dried, 
ground  and  sold  as  a  filler  for  fertilizer  with  some  slight 
profit  in  the  case  of  large  works. 

Centrifugal  machines  have  recently  come  into  use, 
especially  in  Germany,  for  drying  sludge.  They  have  the 
advantage  of  occupying  less  space  and  requiring  less  aux- 
iliary machinery  than  presses  and  do  not  require  lime  or 
heat  as  to  presses.  By  their  use  it  is  practicable  to  reduce 
the  moisture  in  sludge  to  60  to  70  per  cent.  Centrifugal 
sludge  drying  machines  are  in  successful  use  at  Frankfort, 
Hanover  and  other  places  in  Germany. 

Some  sewage  contains  a  great  deal  of  grease  and 
methods  have  been  invented  for  recovering  it,  the  works 
at  Bradford,  England,  and  Charlottenburg,  Germany,  af- 
fording examples  of  how  this  result  can  be  accomplished. 
Finally  it  remains  to  state  that  sludge  has  been  converted 
into  gas  and  burnt.  These  processes,  however,  are  excep- 
tional and  their  employment  is  usually  justified  only  by 
peculiar  local  conditions. 

10.— SEWAGE  FARMS. 

The  Craigentenny  meadows  near  Edinburgh  are  gen- 
erally quoted  as  one  of  the  oldest  examples  of  land  treat- 
ment, seeing  that  they  came  into  use  about  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  But  the  object  of  the  promoters  of 
that  scheme  seems  to  have  been  to  raise  crops  of  grass 
rather  than  to  purify  sewage,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no 
attempt  to  induce  percolation  through'  the  soil — as  a  fact 
the  excess  flow  was  shed  off  the  surface  direct  into  the  sea. 

The  efficiency  of  soil,  particularly  garden  loam,  as  a 
purifier  of  sewage  is  so  well  known  and  so  highly  thought 


156          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

of  that  in  England  irrigation  is  perhaps  the  favorite 
method  of  purifying  sewage  where  land  in  large  quantities 
is  available.  Some  soils  are  more  suitable  than  others,  and 
some — like  clay  and  peat — are  of  comparatively  little 
service  as  purifiers  of  sewage. 

At  Berlin,  where  the  largest  sewage  irrigation  fields 
in  the  world  are  to  be  found,  the  soil — which  is  of  a  light 
sandy  nature — is  reasonably  good,  as  is  the  land  used  for 
a  similar  purpose  in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris. 

The  largest  sewage  farm  in  England  was,  until  1906, 
at  Birmingham,  where  the  available  soil  was  not  good, 
consisting  of  clay,  red  and  yellow  marl,  gravel  and  sand  in 
various  proportions  characteristic  of  the  Keuper  beds  and 
alluvial  deposits.  Because  the  quality  of  land  was  poor, 
and  the  area  inadequate,  Birmingham  has  ceased  to  de- 
pend upon  land  irrigation  to  purify  her  sewage. 

Where  a  large  area  of  land  is  required  for  irrigation, 
as  would  be  necessary  if  that  method  of  purification  were 
adopted  at  Chicago,  it  would  hardly  be  possible  to  obtain 
it  of  uniform  quality.  Close  examination  of  the  soil  and 
subsoil  would  have  to  be  made  before  an  estimate  could  be 
formed  of  the  amount  of  sewage  which  an  acre  of  land 
would  be  capable  of  purifying.  But  it  may  be  assumed 
that  where  the  land  is  well  prepared,  and  the  drainage  sys- 
tem complete,  it  is  possible  to  purify  efficiently  as  much 
as  35,000  gallons  per  acre  per  day,  but  an  accurate  esti- 
mate of  the  purifying  power  of  soil  generally  is  much  more 
likely  to  be  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  this. 

That  land  may  be  usefully  and  profitably  employed 
to  raise  crops  and  feed  cattle,  whilst  it  is,  at  the  same  time, 
effecting  the  purification  of  foul  liquid,  there  can  be  little 
doubt;  but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  two  objects 
are,  to  a  large  extent,  incompatible;  large  volumes  of  sew- 
age cannot  be  treated  at  the  same  time  that  good  crops  are 
raised.  If  the  latter  is  the  chief  desideratum,  land  should 
not  be  expected  to  purify  more  than  5,000  gallons  per  acre 
per  day,  as  an  average,  for  the  whole  year.  In  order  to 
have  a  paying  sewage  farm,  the  average  available  must  be. 
sufficiently  large  to  allow  the  farmer  to  irrigate  only  when 


AVAILABLE  PROCESSES  FOR  TREATING  THE   SEWAGE          157 

he  finds  that  the  sewage  will  not  injure  his  crops.  It  is 
this  incompatibility  of  purpose  which  has  brought  about 
that  condition  of  inefficiency  so  frequently  quoted  by  ad- 
vocates of  proprietary  purification  systems. 

11.— SANITARY    ASPECTS    OF    IRRIGATION. 

From  the  hygienist's  point  of  view  there  are  various 
questions  to  consider  in  connection  with  irrigation,  one 
of  which  is  the  likelihood  of  creating  a  nuisance  in  the 
valley  in  which  the  irrigation  land  is  located.  The  advo- 
cates of  sewage  farming  cannot  deny  that  where  the  area 
is  too  small,  a  certain  amount  of  smell  is  produced,  in 
some  states  of  the  atmosphere,  and  as  the  area  employed 
is  so  enormous  in  the  case  of  large  cities — it  would  prob- 
ably be  not  less  than  50  square  miles  at  Chicago — the 
whole  district  at  times  becomes  permeated  with  a  distinct 
odor  characteristic  of  sodden  land.  That  sewage  farming 
gives  rise  to  sickness  or  disease  there  is  no  proof;  indeed, 
the  absence  of  sickness  or  disease,  such  as  diphtheria  or 
typhoid  fever,  has  been  the  subject  of  remark  on  many 
occasions. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  British  Medical  Association  held 
in  Glasgow  in  1888,  Dr.  Alfred  Carpenter  stated  "that  in 
no  single  instance  out  of  nearly  100  cases  in  which  sewage 
had  been  utilized  by  broad  irrigation  had  any  fact  been 
proved  to  establish  the  allegations  of  insanitariness  which 
are  sometimes  raised  against  them." 

The  sewage  farm  has  become  unpopular  in  England, 
not  because  it  is  unable  to  perform  the  functions  of  a  puri- 
fier, but  because  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  suitable  land. 
Under  ideal  conditions  it  satisfies  the  wishes  of  its 
staunchest  supporters,  but  these  conditions  rarely  obtain. 
Wind  and  rainstorm  during  darkness  render  the  work  of 
distributing  the  sewage  exceedingly  difficult  and,  unless 
the  land  has  been  made  perfectly  level,  the  cost  of  contour- 
ing and  constructing  the  small  earthen  embankments 
which  are  necessary,  is  great.  If  the  embankments  are  on 
sloping  ground,  the  effect  of  a  rainstorm  may  be  to  break 
them  and  overload  the  level  ground  below,  and  the  sewage 


158          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

may  reach  the  river  without  having  undergone  the  puri- 
fication required.  Serious  though  this  is,  still  more  se- 
rious drawbacks  exist  in  countries  where  there  are  long 
periods  of  frost  or  where  there  are  protracted  periods  of 
wet  weather.  Countries  subject  to  long  spells  of  drought 
afford  conditions  the  most  favorable  and  probably  the 
most  profitable  of  any. 

Where  conditions  are  entirely  favorable,  the  sewage 
farm  is  entitled  to  rank  as  one  of  the  best  methods  of  sew- 
age disposal.  Diverse  opinions  may  be  held  as  to  what  are 
favorable  conditions,  but  it  may  be  assumed  that  where 
there  is  one  acre  of  suitable  land  per  5,000  gallons,  as  in 
Berlin  and  several  other  important  cities,  the  efficient  or 
good  sewage  farm,  when  judged  solely  by  the  effluent 
produced,  is  still  in  the  front  rank.  Effluents  from  such 
farms  are  remarkable  for  their  few  microorganisms,  their 
low  albuminoid  ammonia  and  their  uniform  character. 

12.— INTERMITTENT   SAND   FILTRATION. 

Like  broad  irrigation,  this  method  of  purifying  sew 
age  is  no  longer  popular,  but  it  is  nevertheless  efficient, 
and  when  carefully  worked,  capable  of  producing  excel- 
lent results.  Excepting  that  intermittent  sand  filtration 
does  not  require  so  large  an  area  of  land  to  produce  a  good 
filtrate  as  broad  irrigation,  and  that  it  costs  more  for 
maintenance,  it  has  nearly  all  the  merits  and  demerits  per- 
taining to  that  method.  When  suitable  land  of  reason- 
able cost  and  extent  can  be  obtained,  as  in  parts  of  Massa- 
chusetts, this  system  of  purification  may  be  considered, 
and  may  even  be  cheap,  if  an  exceptionally  good  effluent 
must  be  obtained.  When  the  effluent  is  ultimately  to  flow 
into  a  great  stream  which  is  not  required  for  potable 
purposes,  intermittent  sand  filtration  does  not  appear  to 
be  called  for. 

13.— CONTACT  BEDS. 

A  well  known  method  of  purifying  sewage  lies  in  its 
application  to  what  are  called  contact  beds,  which  may  be 
said  to  be  tanks  constructed  of  brick  or  concrete,  filled 


AVAILABLE  PROCESSES  FOR  TREATING  THE  SEWAGE          159 

with  stone,  clinker,  coke,  etc.  The  sewage  enters  one  of 
the  tanks,  and  is  allowed  to  rest  and  come  in  contact  with 
innumerable  microorganisms  for  a  short  time  before  it  is 
run  off.  As  the  sewage  is  withdrawn  from  the  bacteria 
bed,  atmospheric  air  flows  into  it,  causing  the  bed  to  re- 
cuperate preparatory  to  receiving  another  dose  of  sewage. 

It  has  been  found  in  practice  that  while  one  contact  is 
sufficient  for  an  exceptionally  weak  sewage,  it  is  by  no 
means  enough  for  the  average  English  sewage.  With 
several  notable  exceptions,  contact  beds  in  England  are 
built  in  duplicate,  so  that  the  filtrate  which  is  drawn  from 
the  first  can  pass  through  the  second  before  it  is  regarded 
as  sufficiently  oxidized  to  enter  a  stream.  For  the  more 
dilute  sewage  of  Chicago,  a  single  contact  would  prob- 
ably be  found  sufficient. 

Fifteen  years  ago  the  contact  bed  was  almost  in- 
variably employed  in  connection  with  the  septic  tank,  and 
experience  has  generally  associated  the  one  with  the  other. 
There  are  many  cases,  however,  where  contact  beds  have 
successfully  dealt  with  unsepticised  sewage,  so  that  the 
intimate  relationship  which  has  existed  in  the  past  need 
not  now  be  regarded  as  indispensable. 

The  septic  tank  and  the  percolating  filter  have  been, 
for  several  years,  closely  allied,  and  they,  too,  are  dissolv- 
ing partnership  for  the  reason  that  objectionable  smell 
almost  invariably  accompanies  the  spraying  of  septicised 
liquor  over  an  oxidizing  bed.  Neither  contact  filters  nor 
septic  tanks  seem  particularly  well  adapted  to  Chicago 
conditions  except  in  dealing  with  trade  wastes. 

14.— PERCOLATING  FILTERS. 

The  merits  of  the  contact  bed  when  compared  with 
the  percolating  filter  are  not  conspicuous;  at  the  same 
time  they  have  some  advantages.  They  are  likely  to  pro- 
duce less  odor.  Professor  Frankland  recently  preferred 
them  at  Oldbury,  England  (where  the  trade  wastes  have 
a  large  proportion  of  sulpho  cyanides  in  them),  and  that, 
too,  after  experiments  on  three  contact  beds  and  three 
percolating  filters.  Both  experiments  were  made  on  the 


160          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

basis  of  applying  the  effluent  of  the  first  to  the  second  and 
that  of  the  second  to  the  third. 

The  gradual  loss  of  capacity  of  contact  beds  is  a  se- 
rious drawbacks;  the  effluents  from  them  are  not  so  well 
aerated  as  those  from  percolating  filters,  nor  are  they  so 
uniform  in  character. 

Percolating  or  sprinkling  filters  are  generally  capable 
of  treating  about  twice  as  much  tank  liquor  on  the  same 
capacity  of  filtering  medium  constructed  as  contact  beds, 
and  they  are  more  easily  adjusted  to  take  a  larger  volume, 
if  a  storm  should  suddenly  increase  the  volume  of  sewage 
arriving  at  the  works. 

The  preference  of  the  Board  of  Experts  for  percolat- 
ing filters  rests  on  these  and  other  reasons,  not  the  least 
being  that,  as  the  oxidizing  process  is  dependent  upon  the 
free  admission  of  air  into  the  heart  of  a  bed,  this  is  more 
readily  done  when  the  medium  is  built  as  a  percolating 
filter. 

That  the  present  well  known  form  of  oxidizing  bed 
upon  which  the  sewage  is  sprayed  over,  say,  6  feet  of  *4  to 
2^  inch  stones,  is  the  best  possible  form,  no  one  will  ven- 
ture to  assert,  but  it  follows  nature  so  closely  that  it  is  im- 
probable that  it  will  be  greatly  improved. 

15.— AERATION. 

The  question  of  oxidizing  organic  matter  by  the 
oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  has  been  studied  for  about 
thirty  years,  but  no  work  has  yet  been  done  of  sufficient 
importance  to  warrant  this  process  being  referred  to  as 
on  a  par  with  the  other  oxidizing  methods  here  spoken  of. 

Mr.  Harry  Clark,  in  his  Lawrence  experiments,  and 
Messrs.  Black  and  Phelps  in  their  report  on  their  proposed 
treatment  of  New  York  sewage,  have  all  made  valuable 
contributions  to  the  study  of  this  question,  and  more  re- 
cently Dr.  Gilbert  J.  Fowler  has  made  a  distinct  advance 
by  blowing  air  through  sewage  in  contact  with  what  he 
calls  activated  sludge.  But  it  is  necessary  to  await  the 
establishment  of  a  plant  on  a  large  and  practical  scale  ir^ 
order  to  illustrate  the  efficiency  and  the  cost  of  the  process 


AVAILABLE   PROCESSES   FOR  TREATING  THE   SEWAGE          161 

before  being  warranted  in  characterizing  this  as  an  avail- 
able oxidation  method. 

16.— MISCELLANEOUS  PROCESSES. 

Electrolytic  treatment,  ozonization  and  other  less 
well  known  methods  of  sewage  purification,  all  claim  a 
certain  amount  of  attention  from  experts,  but  most  of 
these  processes  have  not  yet  passed  far  beyond  the  labora- 
tory stage  and  do  not  seem  worthy  of  special  description 
in  this  place. 

17.— SUMMARY. 

In  considering  in  detail  methods  of  sewage  disposal  as 
applied  to  any  specific  case,  it  is  necessary  to  have  avail- 
able a  very  large  number  of  facts  pertaining  to  that  case, 
and  in  this  instance  many  subjects  of  local  bearing  have 
not  been  available  to  the  Board  of  Experts.  The  essentials 
of  the  problem  which  have  been  accessible  have  led  to  the 
formation  of  certain  opinions  which  were  expressed  in 
part  in  the  Preliminary  Report.  Further  study  has  con- 
firmed these  statements  in  most  particulars. 

In  discussing  the  various  methods  available  for  the 
treatment  of  the  sewage  of  Chicago,  the  first  consider- 
ation is  the  nature  of  the  stream  into  which  the  effluent 
is  to  be  discharged.  Consideration  of  this  phase  of  the 
question  leads  the  Board  of  Experts  to  say  at  once  that  it 
has  not  yet  become  necessary  to  produce  so  well  purified 
an  effluent  as  is  obtainable  by  broad  irrigation  or  inter- 
mittent sand  filtration  or  other  bacteria  beds;  indeed,  it 
is  doubtful  whether  the  highest  class  of  effluent  will  be 
needed  for  a  very  long  time.  But  the  Board  is  clearly  of 
opinion  that  the  possibility  that  the  sewage  may  some  day 
require  thorough  purification  should  be  kept  in  mind  in 
the  designs  of  any  works  which  are  put  down. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Board  that  some  parts  of  the 
waterways  should  be  freed  entirely  of  the  dry  weather 
flow  of  sewage,  and  that  storm  water  sewage  should  not 
be  allowed  to  flow  from  the  ordinary  sewers  of  the  city 
into  them.  As  a  general  proposition,  storm  water  over- 


162          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

flows  should  not  come  into  operation  until  twice  the  dry 
weather  flow  has  passed  forward  to  the  treatment  works. 
If  this  view  is  accepted,  the  crucial  question  will  resolve 
itself  into  the  condition  of  the  Drainage  Channel  above 
Lockport  and  the  condition  of  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois 
Rivers. 

The  Board  of  Experts  believe  that  if  the  standard 
of  purity  for  the  outlet  of  the  Drainage  Canal  were  fixed 
at  an  amount  of  dissolved  oxygen  equivalent  to  between 
60  and  70  per  cent  of  saturation,  a  good  tank  effluent,  per- 
haps after  subjection  to  aeration,  would  be  found  to  be 
sufficient  for  the  treatment  of  most  of  Chicago's  sewage 
for  the  present,  provided  the  trade  wastes  were  properly 
dealt  with.  The  increase  of  the  population  in  the  Sanitary 
District  would  be  the  main  factor  which  would  call  for  a 
change  in  this  respect;  but  it  would  be  a  gradual  change 
and  dependent  upon  the  amount  of  oxidizable  matter  at 
the  time  of  discharge. 

As  the  demand  upon  the  oxygen  in  the  water  of  the 
channel  increases,  it  will  be  necessary  to  construct  bac- 
teria beds,  or  make  other  arrangements  for  oxidizing  the 
sewage.  The  method  to  be  adopted  will  depend  upon  the 
amount  of  work  to  be  accomplished.  It  may  be  a  question 
whether  it  is  better  to  produce  a  small  quantity,  com- 
paratively, of  highly  purified  effluent,  or  a  larger  quantity 
of  effluent  not  so  fully  oxidized.  Upon  the  answer  to  this 
question  will  largely  depend  the  kind  of  oxidizing  treat- 
ment to  be  employed.  i 

An  immediate  question  to  be  determined  relates  to 
the  disposal  of  the  screenings  and  sludge.  If  there  is  2^ 
per  cent  of  nitrogen  in  the  sludge,  it  may  be  worth  at- 
tempting to  utilize  it  as  a  base  for  a  fertilizer.  If,  how- 
ever, it  is  found  not  to  be  so  rich  in  nitrogen,  the  sludge 
might  be  septicised,  air-dried  and  deposited  upon  a  spoil 
tip,  where  it  may  some  day  be  found  to  possess  a  value  in 
excess  of  the  cost  of  conveying  it  to  the  site  where  it  would 
be  used.  It  would  not  be  surprising  if  burning  was  found 
to  be  the  best  way  to  get  rid  of  it. 


Part  VIII 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS 

It  must  be  evident  from  the  foregoing  that  Chicago 
has  pursued  definite  policies  in  the  protection  of  her  water 
supply  and  in  the  disposal  of  her  sewage  and  is  in  various 
ways  committed  to  them.  The  most  important  of  these 
policies  are:  i,  The  protection  of  the  drinking  water  by 
diverting  the  sewage  from  the  lake ;  2,  The  use  of  the  city's 
waterways  for  the  reception  of  the  crude  sewage;  and  3, 
The  discharge  of  the  sewage  with  a  certain  proportion  of 
diluting  water  to  the  Illinois  Valley,  there  to  be  disposed 
of  by  the  natural  self-purifying  agencies  in  the  water. 

In  other  parts  of  this  report  an  effort  has  been  made 
to  show  how  far  these  policies  have  accomplished  the  re- 
sults intended,  and  this  effort  will  now  be  continued  with 
the  object  of  indicating,  so  far  as  is  practicable,  to  what 
extent  they  should  be  modified  or  abandoned.  Certain 
more  or  less  definite  projects  have  been  proposed  by  the 
engineers  of  the  Sanitary  District  to  assist  in  accomplish- 
ing a  sanitary  disposal  of  the  sewage,  and  these  may  pro- 
fitably be  considered  at  the  same  time. 

1.— PROTECTING  THE   DRINKING  WATER  BY   DIVERT- 
ING THE  SEWAGE  FROM  THE  LAKE. 

For  about  twenty-five  years,  Chicago's  policy  has 
been  to  divert  her  sewage  from  Lake  Michigan  and  send  it 
to  the  Illinois  Valley  with  the  double  object  of  protecting 
the  city's  water  supply  and  preventing  the  Chicago  River 
from  becoming  excessively  foul.  It  has  been  recognized 
that  for  this  procedure  to  be  effective,  all  the  city's  sewers 
must  be  prevented  from  discharging  into  the  lake,  and 
this  has  now  been  accomplished. 

163 


164          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

It  has  been  assumed  that  if  all  of  Chicago's  sewage 
was  kept  out  of  the  lake,  the  water  would  be  pure  enough 
for  drinking.  This  is  a  mistake.  Chicago's  sewage  is  not 
the  only  source  of  pollution  of  Lake  Michigan. 

One  of  the  difficulties  with  the  policy  of  protection 
which  has  been  followed  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  control 
which  should  be  exercised  over  sewage  should  extend  over 
a  very  much  larger  territory  than  it  is  practicable  to  in- 
clude in  a  single  jurisdiction.  It  was  discovered  that  the 
area  comprised  in  the  Sanitary  District  was  not  nearly 
large  enough  in  the  beginning,  and  as  a  result  of  this  dis- 
covery, the  territory  was  more  than  doubled.  It  is  not 
large  enough  now,  if  the  city  is  to  depend  upon  the  pro- 
tection of  the  lake  as  the  only  means  of  securing  pure 
water.  Sewage  is  being  produced  to  the  north  and  to  the 
south  which  cannot  be  taken  to  the  Chicago  Drainage 
Channel  and  must,  apparently,  go  to  the  lake. 

There  would  have  to  be  a  single  Sanitary  jurisdiction 
exercised  over  the  whole  area  bordering  the  southern  end 
of  Lake  Michigan,  including  parts  of  Wisconsin,  Indiana, 
Illinois  and  Michigan,  if  the  best  results  were  to  be  accom- 
plished. No  such  easy  means  of  outlet  through  the  back 
lots  is  available  as  was  the  Chicago  Main  Drainage  Chan- 
nel. It  is  impossible  to  build  another  canal  like  it,  for  it 
is  inconceivable  that  the  United  States  and  Canadian  Gov- 
ernments would  allow  more  flushing  water  to  be  taken 
from  the  lakes  than  is  actually  needed  for  the  disposal  of 
the  sewage  of  the  Sanitary  District. 

Since  all  the  sewage  which  is  produced  at  the  south- 
ern end  of  Lake  Michigan  cannot  be  diverted,  the  balance 
must  be  purified.  If  it  is  to  be  discharged  into  the  lake 
it  should  first  be  rendered  incapable  of  doing  harm.  It  is 
a  difficult  undertaking  to  purify  sewage  to  the  point  where 
it  cannot  produce  nuisance  or  disease.  Such  complete 
treatment  is  seldom  attempted.  The  usual  object  is  to 
remove  from  it  only  those  properties  which  are  capable  of 
putrefying  and  causing  nuisance  in  the  streams.  Com- 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  165 

plete  purification   usually  means   sterilization   by   chem- 
icals as  a  final  process. 

It  is  apparently  impossible  to  bring  about  such  com- 
plete cooperation  between  the  states  and  cities  bordering 
Lake  Michigan  as  will  wholly  remove  the  danger  of  pollu- 
tion from  Chicago's  water  supply.  Four  years  ago  the 
Lake  Michigan  Water  Commission  and  certain  prominent 
Chicago  officials  pointed  out  the  dangers  connected  with 
the  use  of  the  lake  both  as  a  receptacle  of  sewage  and  a 
source  of  water  supply,  and  methods  of  guarding  against 
them,  yet  there  has  been  little  progress  made  in  bringing 
the  many  interests  together  in  that  close  agreement  which 
is  essential  to  successful  protection. 

2.— THE  DANGER  OF  CHANCE  POLLUTION. 

And  even  if  it  were  possible  to  divert  all  the  sewage 
from  the  lake  and  purify  it  beyond  the  possibility  of  dan- 
ger, there  are  other  sources  of  pollution  which  would  have 
to  be  eliminated  before  the  water  supply  could  be  consid- 
ered safe. 

Lake  Michigan  is  a  great  highway  of  commerce  and 
vessels  of  many  kinds  are  passing  in  and  out  of  Chicago's 
harbor  and  the  Calumet  continually.  It  has  been  shown 
by  Health  Commissioner  Young  of  Chicago  that  it  is  pos- 
sible materially  to  reduce  the  risks  of  pollution  from  large 
pleasure  craft  and  some  other  types  of  boats,  but  the  com- 
plete elimination  of  this  danger  is  scarcely  practicable. 

The  part  placed  by  seemingly  healthy  carriers  of  in- 
fection in  spreading  typhoid  and  other  diseases  should  be 
remembered  in  this  connection.  A  single  boatman,  while 
sailing  by  an  intake,  might  unconsciously  cast  millions  of 
typhoid  germs  overboard  which  would  get  into  the  public 
water  supply. 

The  pumping  out  of  water  taken  in  as  ballast  at  some 
filthy  harbor  can  doubtless  be  done  away  with  as  a  prac- 
tice among  vessels  approaching  Chicago,  as  can  the  im- 
proper dumping  of  dredgings,  but  whether  the  rules  which 
may  be  made  to  prohibit  these  practices  can  be  so  rigidly 
enforced  as  utterly  to  prevent  infringement  is  doubtful. 


166          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

3.— THE  QUESTION  OF  CLEARNESS. 

It  should  be  recognized  that  no  plan  of  diverting  the 
sewage  from  the  lake,  or  otherwise  protecting  the  water 
from  pollution,  is  capable  of  excluding  the  solid  matter 
which,  at  times  of  storm,  makes  the  water  turbid.  Clear- 
ness can  be  had  only  by  purifying  the  water,  presumably 
by  filtration. 

The  degree  of  clearness  proper  for  a  water  supply  is  a 
matter  of  public  opinion.  Various  Southern  and  Western 
cities  seem  satisfied  with  water  which,  at  some  seasons  of 
the  year,  is  so  muddy  as  to  look  wholly  unfit  for  drinking, 
while  the  Eastern  cities  of  the  United  States  and  the  cities 
of  Northern  Europe  are  not  content  with  less  than  the 
cleanest  and  brightest  water  which  is  obtainable. 

In  Chicago  there  seems  to  be  no  general  feeling  of 
discontent  that  the  city  drinking  water  is  less  bright  and 
attractive  than  it  should  be,  although  it  has  been  noted 
that  there  are  many  household  filters  and  that  nearly  all 
who  can  afford  to  do  so,  drink  bottled  waters.  Such  a 
feeling  is  bound  to  arise  in  course  of  time. 

When  the  water  supply  becomes  noticeably  turbid, 
and  this  happens  often,  the  turbidity  is  commonly  at- 
tributed to  solid  matter  which  is  stirred  up  from  the  lake 
bottom  by  the  action  of  waves.  But  it  would  appear  that 
this  could  give  but  a  poor  assurance  of  its  harmlessness, 
for  the  color  and  consistency  of  the  deposit  plainly  sug- 
gest that  some  of  the  solid  matter  originally  came  from 
the  city. 

It  is  impossible  to  see  how  the  solids  which  make  the 
water  turbid  could  be  avoided  by  changing  the  position  of 
the  intakes.  How  far  it  would  be  necessary  to  extend 
them  in  order  to  obtain  water  which  would  always  be  pure 
and  clear  cannot  be  stated.  Waves  stir  up  the  bottom  in 
depths  up  to  50  feet  and  the  turbid  water  so  produced  may 
travel  far.  In  this  connection  it  is  necessary  to  remember 
that  there  are  sometimes  vertical,  as  well  as  horizontal, 
currents.  The  Chicago  intakes  are  about  as  far  from 
shore  as  it  is  desirable  to  build  them  in  view  of  their  cost 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  167 

and  the  quality  of  water  obtainable.  Lake  Michigan  is  so 
shallow  that  it  would  apparently  be  necessary  to  go  from 
10  to  15  miles  in  order  to  get  water  from  a  depth  of  50  feet. 

It  would  be  wise  policy  for  the  city  to  provide  for  the 
coming  filters  without  loss  of  time.  Hyposulphite  treat- 
ment is  excellent  as  a  temporary  and  emergency  measure, 
but  it  is  not  a  substitute  for  filtration  in  cases  of  this 
kind.  It  sterilizes,  but  it  does  not  clarify. 

The  filtration  plants  should  be  located  on  the  water 
front  in  connection  with  the  intakes.  So  far  as  the  protec- 
tion of  the  lake  is  concerned,  the  object  should  be  to  keep 
out  all  gross  pollution,  and  maintain  the  water  in  such  a 
state  as  will  permit  the  filtration  works  to  produce  a  satis- 
factory effluent  at  the  lowest  cost. 

4.— THE  PROPER  DEGREE  OF  PURITY  FOR  THE  DRINK- 
ING WATER. 

If  Chicago  was  to  take  her  drinking  water  unpurified 
from  Lake  Michigan,  the  water  should  be  kept  as  pure  as 
that  of  a  mountain  lake.  This  is  a  high  standard,  but  r^t 
too  high  as  gauged  by  many  of  the  water  supplies  of  the 
world's  greatest  cities.  The  drinking  water  of  London 
and  Berlin  are  stored  and  filtered  and  are  of  great  purity; 
that  of  Paris  is  obtained  from  distant  springs ;  in  order  to 
protect  New  York's  water  from  pollution,  thousands  of 
acres  of  land  have  been  purchased  along  the  margins  of 
the  collecting  streams  and  plans  have  been  made  to  filter 
it;  Philadelphia,  Cincinnati,  New  Orleans,  Pittsburgh 
and  many  other  large  American  cities  filter  their  water. 

In  framing  a  standard  for  the  purity  of  Chicago's 
drinking  water,  regard  should  be  had  for  the  progressive 
development  which  is  taking  place  in  public  opinion  with 
regard  to  sanitary  matters.  In  1880,  according  to  Pro- 
fessor Whipple,*  the  quality  of  American  water  supplies 

"was  low,  judged  by  modern  requirements.  Clearness  and 
freedom  from  color,  taste  and  odor  were  the  ruling  standards 
and  even  these  were  very  often  not  complied  with.  Water 

*The  Present  Status  of  Water  Purification  in  the  United  States,  George  C. 
Whipple. 


168          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

analysis  was  confined  chiefly  to  the  mineral  constituents.  The 
germ  theory  of  the  transmission  of  disease  through  the  agency 
of  sewage  polluted  water  had  not  arisen." 

More  than  thirty  years  later,  grossly  polluted  sup- 
plies were  still  in  use,  and  in  many  cases  were  distributed 
without  filtration  or  treatment  of  any  kind.  Water-borne 
diseases  were  rife,  and  were  put  up  with  as  a  matter  of 
course. 

During  the  last  thirty  years,  the  education  of  the 
public  with  respect  to  water  supplies  has  proceeded  apace. 
The  casual  relation  of  water  to  disease  has  been  clearly 
established,  the  public  opinion  rightly  demands  that  water, 
the  prime  necessity  of  life,  shall  not  be  allowed  to  serve 
as  a  vehicle  of  disease  and  death.  The  spread  of  this  en- 
lightened public  opinion  is  reflected  in  the  increasing  use 
of  filters  as  a  safeguard  against  pollution,  and  its  sound- 
ness is  placed  beyond  question  by  the  marked  drop  in  the 
prevalence  of  water-borne  diseases  wherever  filters  have 
been  installed.  In  1860,  less  than  a  quarter  of  one  per  cent 
of  the  urban  population  of  the  United  States  were  supplied 
with  filtered  water.  In  1910,  over  28  per  cent  were  so  sup- 
plied, and  the  percentage  is  still  increasing.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  before  long  the  use  of  surface  water  with- 
out filtration  will  cease  in  all  but  a  few  undeveloped  and 
backward  communities.  Even  in  the  case  of  the  purer  sup- 
plies, there  is  an  increasing  tendency  to  place  the  water 
beyond  the  risk  of  chance  pollution. 

The  value  which  a  great  city  attaches  to  a  wholesome 
water  and  its  determination  to  place  its  supply  above  sus- 
picion, are  well  exemplified  by  the  works  completed  in 
1904  for  Birmingham,  England,  at  a  cost  of  $23,000,000. 
The  water  is  collected  from  71  square  miles  of  elevated 
moorland  in  Mid-Wales,  some  80  miles  from  the  city,  and 
stored  in  three  reservoirs  of  a  united  capacity  of  11,145,- 
000,000  imperial  gallons.  Notwithstanding  its  purity,  it 
is  subjected  to  two  filtrations:  the  first  through  three 
acres  of  coarse  sand  and  shingle  at  the  head  of  the  aque- 
duct, and  the  second  through  fourteen  acres  of  fine  sand 
filters  at  the  service  reservoirs  near  the  city. 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  169 

Up  to  the  present,  Chicago's  policy  has  been  to  keep 
the  lake  water  as  pure  as  practicable  without  having  any 
definite  standard  by  which  to  judge  the  success  and  fail- 
ure of  its  efforts,  except  the  death  rate.  Probably  no 
standard,  however  scientifically  devised  and  suited  to  the 
peculiar  situation,  would  have  been  of  much  use,  since  lit- 
tle could  be  done  to  improve  the  bacterial  condition  and 
turbidity,  if  the  quality  was  found  below  par.  If  filtration 
works  are  built,  it  will  be  desirable  to  establish  standards 
of  clearness  and  of  bacterial  purity,  and  it  will  be  the  duty 
of  those  who  are  in  charge  of  the  works  to  so  operate  them 
that  the  requirements  of  the  standard  are  always  complied 
with.  The  chances  of  accidental  pollution  will  then  be 
eliminated  and  the  appearance  of  the  water  will  not  be  af- 
fected by  storms. 

5.— NECESSITY  FOR  PURIFYING  THE  WATER. 

Chicago  is  fortunate  in  possessing  in  Lake  Michigan 
a  source  which  is  unlimited  as  regards  quantity,  and  in  its 
pristine  state,  of  an  exceptionally  high  degree  of  purity. 
No  other  source  has,  or  need  be,  thought  of,  so  long  as 
this  water  can  be  used. 

The  quality  of  the  water  has  been  improved  by  the 
more  and  more  complete  diversion  of  the  sewage  from 
the  lake,  but  further  improvement  is  demanded.  The 
present  typhoid  mortality  is  less  than  that  of  many  other 
American  cities,  but  it  does  not  compare  favorably  with  2 
per  100,000  in  Edinburgh  or  3  per  100,000  in  London. 

As  the  population  grows,  it  will  be  both  more  dif- 
ficult and  more  important  than  the  drinking  water  shall 
be  safe.  If  we  accept  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  W.  A.  Evans, 
formerly  Health  Commissioner  of  Chicago,  that  only  a 
small  part  of  Chicago's  typhoid  fever  is  water-born,  and 
in  view  of  the  vigorous  health  administration  now  in 
force,  a  typhoid  rate  of  10.5  per  100,000  from  other  causes 
seems  hardly  probable — it  should  not  be  taken  for  granted 
that  the  mortality  will  be  maintained  at  the  comparatively 
low  figure  at  which  it  now  stands.  Epidemics  of  typhoid 


170          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

fever  are  often  of  an  explosive  nature,  and  occur  without 
warning  in  communities  which  have  enjoyed  for  many 
years  a  comparative  immunity  from  the  disease.  The  epi- 
demics at  Worthing,  Maidstone  and  Lincoln,  in  England, 
and  Butler,  Ithaca,  and  Grand  Forks,  in  America,  are  well 
known  instances  of  the  results  of  a  chance  pollution  of 
supplies  which  for  many  years  had  been  regarded  as  safe. 

The  measures  which  have  hitherto  been  adopted  for 
the  protection  of  Chicago's  water  supply  amount  merely 
to  the  stoppage  of  certain  well  defined  avenues  of  pollu- 
tion— excellent  work,  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  not  sufficient. 
In  order  to  safeguard  the  water  supply  effectually,  the  line 
of  defense  should  be  continuous.  It  must  intercept  not 
merely  two  or  three  of  the  more  important  sources  of  pol- 
lution, but  all.  This  can  only  be  done  with  absolute  cer- 
tainty by  applying  some  form  of  treatment  to  the  whole 
of  the  water  supplied. 

Sterilization  by  means  of  chemicals,  and  filtration, 
rapid  or  slow,  are  well  tried  methods  of  purification,  either 
of  which  can  be  relied  on  to  yield  a  water  which  will  not 
communicate  disease.  But  the  desirability  of  eliminating 
the  turbid  appearance  of  the  water  after  storms  reduces 
the  problem  to  one  of  filtration.  The  annual  cost  of  filtra- 
tion, as  shown  in  the  report  of  the  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Sanitary  District  in  1911,  about  60  cents  per  head  of  popu- 
lation, would  be  a  very  moderate  premium  to  pay  against 
the  risk  of  infection  with  typhoid  or  any  other  disease 
through  the  medium  of  the  city  drinking  water  supply. 
Against  this  cost  should  be  set  the  saving  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  money  spent  on  bottled  water,  estimated  at 
between  $200,000  and  $300,000  per  annum,  and  the  filtra- 
tion of  private  supplies. 

6.— THE    PRESENT   WASTE    OF   WATER   AND    ITS    PRE- 
VENTION. 

The  consumption  of  water  in  Chicago,  which  now 
amounts  to  213  gallons  per  head  per  day,  is  characterized 
by  the  Department  of  Public  Works  as  "wasteful  and  ex-, 
travagant."  It  is  nearly  five  times  as  much  as  is  consumed 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  171 

in  London  for  all  purposes,  and  far  exceeds  the  consump- 
tion in  the  majority  of  American  cities.  The  annual  cost 
of  pumping  and  distributing  this  water  is  over  $3,600,000, 
a  large  part  of  which  might  be  saved,  if  the  consumption 
were  brought  within  reasonable  bounds. 

It  would  not  be  expedient,  neither  is  it  desirable,  to 
place  any  restriction  on  the  legitimate  use  of  the  water, 
but,  short  of  this,  much  may  be  done  to  check  the  waste. 
As  an  indication  of  what  may  be  accomplished  in  this  di- 
rection, attention  may  be  called  to  the  vigorous  campaign 
against  the  waste  of  water  which  was  carried  on  in  New 
York  City  in  1912,  with  the  result  that  the  average  daily 
consumption  for  the  whole  year  was  brought  down  to  100 
gallons  per  head.  The  expense  incurred  in  the  prevention 
of  waste  was  about  $167,000,  and  the  aggregate  value  of 
the  water  saved,  at  the  meter  rate  of  $133  per  million  gal- 
lons, was  nearly  $6,500,000.  Other  large  cities,  such  as 
Cleveland,  Minneapolis,  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Philadel- 
phia and  Rochester,  are  keeping  down  the  cost  of  their 
water  supplies  without  any  hardship  to  consumers,  by  the 
introduction  of  water  meters. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  an  excessive  consump- 
tion of  water  affects  not  only  the  cost  of  the  water  supply, 
but  the  cost  of  sewage  disposal.  In  the  latter  case,  larger 
sewers,  more  pumping,  and  larger  treatment  works  are 
required  than  would  otherwise  be  necessary.  In  view  of 
these  considerations  and  of  the  large  amount  of  money 
which  is  spent  every  year  in  pumping  the  water,  it  seems 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  saving  in  preventing  waste 
would  go  far  towards  paying  for  the  filtering  of  the  les- 
sened daily  consumption,  and  that  the  whole  of  the  water 
supplied  to  the  city  may  be  rendered  safe  and  bright,  and 
placed  above  suspicion  at  a  cost  not  appreciably  exceed- 
ing that  of  the  present  unsatisfactory  supply. 

It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  a  wholesome  and 
attractive  water  will  enhance  the  value  of  every  dollar's 
worth  of  real  estate  within  the  city.  Apart  from  monetary 
considerations,  it  is  unthinkable  that  Chicago  will  long 


172          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

continue  to  put  up  with  a  supply  which  would  not  be  toler- 
ated by  any  city  in  Western  Europe. 

7.— THE   POLICY   OF   DISCHARGING  THE   CRUDE   SEW- 
AGE INTO  THE  WATERCOURSES. 

It  has  been  Chicago's  policy  to  discharge  her  crude 
sewage  into  the  Chicago  River  and  its  branches  and  rely 
upon  the  flow  of  water  from  Lake  Michigan  to  flush  this 
dangerous  and  offensive  material  away.  This  is  the  very 
opposite  of  the  policy  which  most  other  modern  cities 
have  adopted,  and  suggests  the  time,  now  many  years 
past,  when  it  was  not  known  that  sewage  could  be  got  rid 
of  in  any  other  manner. 

Sewage  disposal  is  essentially  a  modern  accomplish- 
ment. Within  the  recollection  of  many  now  living,  sewers 
were  practically  unknown.  In  the  foremost  cities  of  Eu- 
rope and  America,  household  slops  were  thrown  upon  the 
ground  to  soak  into  it  or  run  off  by  gutters  or  other  sur- 
face channels.  Occasionally,  where  highway  drains  ex- 
isted, they  were  used  for  slop  water  also.  The  resulting 
pollution  of  the  water  courses  was  much  less  objection- 
able than  it  is  today,  for  the  reason  that  water  closets  had 
not  yet  been  invented,  and  there  were,  consequently,  no 
such  gross  offenses  to  the  eye  as  are  now  occasioned  by 
the  discharge  of  a  modern  sewer. 

With  the  introduction  of  public  water  supplies  and 
the  increasing  use  of  water  closets,  the  need  for  complete 
drainage  systems  to  carry  the  sewer  to  suitable  points  for 
disposal  became  apparent.  The  earliest  sewers  discharged 
their  burden  into  the  nearest  rivers  which  were  regarded 
as  its  natural  and  proper  destination.  In  the  manufactur- 
ing districts  of  England,  where  the  cities  are  large  and 
close  together,  the  rivers  rapidly  became  very  foul,  and  by 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  the  condition  of  many  of 
them  was  so  bad  that  an  urgent  demand  arose  for  its 
amelioration. 

For  the  past  sixty  years,  a  more  or  less  complete  treat- 
ment of  sewage  has  been  recognized  as  the  duty  of  every 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  173 

urban  authority  not  in  the  fortunate  position  of  possess- 
ing a  sea  outfall,  and  of  late  years  even  many  of  the  towns 
so  favored  have  laid  down  purification  works.  Section  17 
of  the  English  Public  Health  Act  of  1875  provides  that 

"Nothing  in  this  Act  shall  authorize  any  local  authority 
to  make  or  use  any  sewer,  drain  or  outfall  for  the  purpose  of 
conveying  sewage  or  filthy  water  into  any  natural  stream  or 
water  course,  or  into  any  canal,  pond  or  lake,  until  such  sewage 
or  filthy  water  is  freed  from  all  excrementitious  or  other  foul 
or  noxious  matter,  such  as  would  affect  or  deteriorate  the 
purity  or  quality  of  the  water  in  such  stream  or  water  course, 
or  in  such  canal,  pond  or  lake." 

Nothing  is  said  about  the  position  of  the  outfall,  the 
relative  volumes  of  the  sewage  and  of  the  stream,  the 
uses  to  which  the  stream  is  put,  or  other  circumstances 
which  ought  to  be  taken  into  consideration  in  deciding  on 
the  amount  of  the  purification  which  should  be  under- 
taken. This  is  the  legal  position  today,  no  other  legisla- 
tion on  the  subject  having  taken  place. 

The  history  of  sewage  disposal  in  Great  Britain  is 
being  repeated  in  some  of  its  features  on  the  continent 
of  Europe  and  in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time. 
No  sewage  whatever  is  allowed  to  flow  into  the  Seine  at 
Paris,  or  into  the  Spree  at  Berlin,  or  into  the  Thames  at 
London,  except  at  times  of  storm. 

Throughout  Germany  it  is  the  rule  to  carry  the  sew- 
age in  closed  conduits  to  a  central  point,  usually  beyond 
the  city  limits,  where  it  is  screened  or  settled  before  the 
liquid  portion  is  discharged  into  the  turbid  rivers. 

This  custom  is  growing  in  America,  and  Boston  and 
many  towns  in  its  vicinity  have  united  in  a  system  of  main 
drainage  which  carries  the  sewage  to  sea.  Providence, 
Baltimore,  Worcester,  Atlanta,  Columbus,  Washington, 
and  other  cities  carry  their  sewage  to  central  points  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  built-up  portions  of  those 
cities  and  there  treat  it  before  discharge.  In  no  case  is 
crude  sewage  discharged  in  such  quantity  into  such  small 
water  courses  as  is  done  at  Chicago. 

The  use  of  the  Chicago  River  and  its  tributaries  as 


174          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

sewers  raises  questions  of  decency  and  self-respect,  as 
well  as  problems  of  health.  That  same  delicacy  of  feeling 
which  relegates  the  sanitary  offices  of  a  home  to  the  back- 
ground will  sooner  or  later  revolt  against  the  conversion 
of  the  waterways,  especially  those  in  the  built-up  portions 
of  the  city,  into  common  sewers.  This  feeling  is  a  sound 
one.  It  does  not  depend  upon  aesthetic  considerations 
merely,  but  rests  ultimately  upon  the  instinct  of  self- 
preservation.  It  is  never  wise  to  assume  that  an  offensive 
condition  is  harmless.  Clean  bodies,  homes  and  cities 
make  for  safety;  dirt,  on  the  other  hand,  very  often  means 
danger. 

It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  gross  pollution  to 
which  the  Chicago  River  and  its  tributaries  are  subject  is 
not  responsible  in  part  for  the  existence  in  Chicago  of  a 
typhoid  death  rate  three  times  that  of  London.  There  are 
more  possible  avenues  of  infection  than  one.  Typhoid  is 
not  only  a  water-borne  disease — it  is  also  a  fly-borne  dis- 
ease. The  slimy  deposits  which  form  along  the  water  line 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  and  the  abutments  of  the  bridges 
furnish  at  once  a  breeding  ground  for  flies  and  a  source  of 
the  virus  which  they  convey. 

And  how  is  it  possible  for  a  municipality  to  insist 
upon  a  clean  and  orderly  management  of  filth  on  the  part 
of  householders,  if  it  is  itself  careless  and  unskillful  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  public  places  which  are  committed  to 
its  charge? 

8.— CONDITIONS    WHICH    PROPERLY     CONSTITUTE    A 

NUISANCE. 

In  considering  the  sanitary  conditions  of  the  Chicago 
River  and  its  outlet  it  is  necessary  that  a  clear  understand- 
ing be  arrived  at  as  to  what  constitutes  a  nuisance.  The 
word  "nuisance"  represents  a  conception  which  does  not 
admit  of  precise  definition.  The  courts  have  frequently 
been  called  upon  to  deal  with  it,  and  sanitarians  are  com- 
pelled to  face  it  in  innumerable  forms. 

Generally,  a  nuisance  may  be  considered  as  a  condi-  ' 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  175 

tion  or  set  of  conditions  working  harm  to  one  or  more 
persons  through  an  assault  or  offense  to  the  sense  of  de- 
cency, propriety  or  comfort.  The  effect  is  positive,  not 
slight  or  partial.  An  odor  or  a  sight  which  seriously  dis- 
turbs the  peace  of  mind  which  is  necessary  to  the  ordinary 
vocations  of  life  may  constitute  a  nuisance. 

Obviously  what  is  a  nuisance  to  some  may  not  prop- 
erly be  called  a  nuisance  by  others,  there  being  marked 
differences  in  susceptibility  to  the  disturbing  conditions 
among  persons  of  different  sensitiveness.  In  determining 
whether  a  nuisance  does  or  does  not  exist,  a  reasonable 
and  liberal  interpretation  of  the  facts  should  be  arrived  at 
and  the  susceptibility  of  the  average  person  who  is  af- 
fected must  be  accepted  as  the  gauge. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  a  nuisance  cannot  exist 
without  reference  to  those  persons  who  may  be  affected  by 
it.  The  putrefaction  of  sewage  may  proceed  to  the  point 
where  the  most  foul-smelling  and  other  objectionable 
consequences  are  produced,  but  if  there  is  nobody  in  the 
vicinity  the  conditions  cannot  be  said  to  constitute  a 
nuisance.  Conversely,  a  very  small  amount  of  putrefying 
sewage  in  the  midst  of  a  crowded  section  may  be  so  objec- 
tionable as  to  constitute  a  nuisance,  in  the  fullest  sense  of 
the  word. 

In  the  light  of  foregoing  remarks,  it  must  be  obvious 
that  the  putrefaction  of  sewage  should  not  be  permitted  in 
the  closely  built-up  sections  of  cities,  but  may  be  allowed 
to  proceed  in  rural  districts  remote  from  habitations  or 
places  of  work  and  not  passed  by  vessels  or  vehicles  of 
transportation  by  land. 

Applying  the  conception  of  nuisance  here  described 
to  the  condition  of  the  waterways  of  Chicago,  it  may  be 
said  that  nuisance  exists  in  various  places  in  the  contribut- 
ing arms  of  the  Chicago  River  and  not  to  a  considerable 
extent,  so  far  as  the  personal  observations  of  the  Board 
of  Experts  have  extended,  in  the  main  channel  from  the 
lake  to  the  Drainage  Canal.  Practically  the  entire  water- 
shed of  the  Chicago  River  is  populated  or  soon  will  be 
built  up,  and  it  seems  only  a  question  of  time  when  a  de- 


176          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

cided  nuisance  will  exist.  The  Drainage  Channel  flows 
through  the  open  country  for  many  miles,  and  its  condi- 
tion, although  observed  to  be  foul  by  those  who  have  had 
occasion  to  visit  it,  does  not  constitute  a  nuisance  for  the 
reason  that  none  are  compelled  to  reside  or  work  within 
the  sphere  of  its  offensiveness.  On  the  other  hand,  nuis- 
ance undoubtedly  exists  along  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois 
Rivers. 

Some  modification  of  the  ordinary  acceptance  of  the 
term  should  be  made  in  considering  its  application  to  the 
Chicago  conditions.  The  condition  of  the  waterways  is  so 
much  better  in  most  places  than  formerly  that  the  public  is 
generous  in  its  criticism.  Complaint  is  not  likely  to  be 
vigorous  where  a  decided  change  for  the  better  is  seen  to 
have  been  made.  In  course  of  time  it  may  reasonably  be 
expected  that  the  sanitary  ideals  of  those  who  are  now 
lenient  may  become  more  exacting,  so  that  it  will  not  be 
safe  to  assume  that  Chicago's  waterways  can  properly  be 
allowed  to  be  more  polluted  than  the  waterways  of  any 
other  city  where  the  education  and  intelligence  of  the  pub- 
lic are  at  a  high  level. 

There  is  another  consideration  which  in  some  degree 
mitigates  the  exceedingly  foul  condition  of  some  of  the 
city's  open  waterways.  Odors  of  a  peculiarly  offensive  and 
pervading  character  exist  from  certain  industrial  estab- 
lishments in  close  proximity  to  points  of  excessive  sewage 
pollution.  The  sewage  pollution  adds  to,  but  does  not  cre- 
ate, the  original  offense.  From  the  standpoint  of  some  it 
is  far  less  objectionable  to  maintain  the  sewage  nuisance 
in  the  presence  of  the  trade  offense  than  it  would  be  to 
permit  it  in  the  best  residence  or  business  districts. 

Excuse  upon  this  ground  is  fallacious.  The  existence 
of  one  nuisance  cannot  condone  another.  Nor  is  it  reason- 
able, where  many  persons  are  affected,  to  aggravate  one 
offensive  condition  of  the  atmosphere  by  the  addition  of 
another.  The  aerial  nuisance  may,  or  may  not  be,  pre- 
vented. In  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  pollution  of  the 
waterways  by  sewage  which,  for  other  reasons  can,  and 
should  be,  disposed  of  in  a  sanitary  manner,  nothing  short 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  177 

of  radical  improvement  should  be  regarded  as  satisfac- 
tory. A  municipality  cannot  equitably  insist  upon  the 
prevention  of  an  aerial  nuisance  from  a  manufacturing 
establishment  if  it  maintains  an  aerial  nuisance  from  its 
sewage. 

It  makes  little  difference  whether  the  pollution  of  the 
open  water  courses  is  due  to  sewage  or  trade  wastes.  If 
the  wastes  are  recognized  to  be  a  public  charge,  it  is  in- 
cumbent upon  the  city  to  dispose  of  it.  If  responsibility 
for  the  wastes  devolves  upon  the  manufacturing  establish- 
ments, it  is  but  reasonable  to  require  that  the  establish- 
ments shall  dispose  of  the  wastes  without  inconvenience 
to  the  public  welfare,  or  pay  the  municipality  for  dispos- 
ing of  them. 

9.— INEFFECTIVENESS   OF   DREDGING   AND    FLUSHING 
IN  KEEPING  THE  WATERWAYS  CLEAN. 

A  great  deal  of  dredging  has  been  done  in  the  Chi- 
cago River  and  its  tributaries,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that 
more  will  have  to  be  done  to  relieve  some  of  the  arms  of 
their  excessive  accumulations.  But  it  would  not  be  either 
a  prudent  or  permissible  policy  deliberately  to  allow  sew- 
age sludge  to  form  on  the  bottom  of  the  waterways  with 
the  intention  of  removing  it  by  dredging. 

However  useful  dredging  operations  may  be  in  deep- 
ening rivers  to  improve  them  for  navigation,  they  are 
quite  unsuitable  as  a  main  reliance  for  keeping  waterways, 
like  the  Chicago  River  and  its  tributaries,  in  a  sanitary 
condition.  The  unsuitability  of  dredging  is  fundamental 
and  rests  upon  the  fact  that  it  is  a  remedy  and  not  a  means 
of  prevention.  Dredging  will  not  keep  clean  waterways 
clean.  In  sanitary  work  it  is  chiefly  useful  in  removing 
accumulations  which  have  made  the  rivers  foul.  It  is 
most  serviceable  in  those  cases  where,  for  some  reason, 
effective  measures  cannot  be  employed  for  the  exclusion 
of  the  settling  solids. 

Sewage  deposits,  such  as  it  is  practicable  for  dredges 
to  remove,  are  among  the  most  objectionable  consequences 
of  discharging  crude  sewage  into  water  courses.  They 


178          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

readily  ferment  and  give  off  offensive  gases,  often  in  large 
quantities,  and  their  characteristically  black,  muddy  con- 
sistency imparts  to  the  water  above  them  an  appearance 
of  foulness  which  it  is  the  very  object  of  scientific  sewage 
disposal  to  avoid.  Prof.  Adeney  has  shown  in  his  re- 
searches for  the  Royal  Commission  on  Sewage  Disposal 
of  England,  and  for  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Commis- 
sion of  New  York,  that  sewage  deposits  play  a  most  im- 
portant part  in  exhausting  the  oxygen  from  the  overlying 
water,  a  conclusion  that  is  supported  by  the  results  of 
numerous  investigations  of  over-polluted  rivers  in  all 
countries. 

Flushing  has  always  been  depended  on  as  the  prin- 
cipal means  of  keeping  Chicago's  waterways  clean,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  it  has  never  proved  entirely 
satisfactory.  The  city  has  been  disappointed  in  the  effects 
of  flushing  and  it  is  bound  to  continue  to  be  disappointed 
so  long  as  it  believes  that  this  procedure  will  keep  the 
river  and  its  branches  free  from  accumulations  of  sewage. 

The  leading  difficulty  with  flushing  lies  in  the  im- 
mense amount  of  water  which  is  required  for  it  and  the 
necessity  of  applying  the  water  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause 
a  circulation  through  every  part  of  the  system  of  water- 
ways. The  water  will  not  of  itself  seek  out  the  places 
which  need  it  most ;  its  tendency  is  to  take  the  path  of  least 
resistance  and  flow  away  by  the  easiest  and  most  direct 
course,  leaving  undisturbed  accumulations  which  should 
be  scoured  out.  It  is  possible  without  works  of  prohibitive 
cost  to  provide  all  parts  of  the  waterways,  including  the 
corners  and  other  naturally  quiet  places  with  self-cleans- 
ing velocities. 

Sewers  are  built  to  be  self-cleansing  at  velocities 
which  range  from  2  to  4  feet  per  second,  from  which  it  will 
be  seen  that  solid  matters  which  require  this  velocity  to 
keep  them  moving  will  deposit  if  discharged  into  a  more 
slowly  flowing  stream.  Four  feet  per  second  is  equal  to 
2.7  miles  per  hour.  Nothing  like  this  can  be  maintained 
at  Chicago  in  the  main  channel  because  of  the  interference 
which  the  current  would  cause  to  navigation. 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  179 

When  the  Drainage  Canal  was  opened,  the  permit 
from  the  United  States  Government  under  which  it  was 
to  operate  was  for  a  "flowage  capacity  of  300,000  cubic 
feet  per  minute,  with  a  velocity  of  1.25  miles  per  hour." 
But  the  capacity  of  the  river  had  been  overestimated,  and 
the  velocities  which  were  necessary  in  order  that  the  de- 
sired volume  of  water  should  be  passed,  were  considerably 
in  excess  of  the  expected  rate.  Protests  were  made  by 
various  commercial  and  navigation  interests  that  currents 
were  produced  of  nearly  3  miles  per  hour,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  these  protests,  the  rate  of  discharge  was  reduced 
to  250,000  cubic  feet  per  minute.  This  allowance  is  still  in 
force,  subject  to  further  change  in  the  discretion  of  the 
Secretary  of  War. 

Currents  of  2  miles  per  hour  in  the  main  stream, 
where  vessels  ply  mean  much  lower  rates  close  to  the 
shores,  in  slips  and  through  the  less  frequented  places. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  extensive  deposits  would  take  place 
in  the  channel  and  South  Fork  were  it  not  for  the  move- 
ments of  boats  which  continually  stir  up  the  bottom. 

To  maintain  self-cleansing  velocities  throughout  the 
waterways  without  excessive  waste  of  diluting  water,  un- 
due interference  with  navigation  and  other  interests 
would  require  a  nice  proportioning  of  the  cross  sections  of 
the  river  and  its  branches  and  a  carefully  arranged  supply 
of  water  at  many  points.  No  attempt  has  been  made  at 
such  proportioning  or  supply  and  none  is  practicable. 

An  objection  to  flushing  as  practiced  at  Chicago  is 
that  it  does  not  carry  the  sewage  to  a  point  where  any  of 
the  recognized  methods  of  sewage  disposal  can  be  applied 
to  it.  The  sewage  is  not  rendered  any  more  amenable  to 
treatment,  except  such  treatment  as  nature  gives  it  in  the 
rivers  into  which  the  sewage  is  discharged.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  dilution  so  increases  the  bulk  that  no  method  of 
sewage  purification  can  be  applied  to  it. 

The  employment  of  the  waterways  for  the  crude  sew- 
age has  required  the  use  of  an  extensive  system  of  canals 
which  add  nothing  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  city  and,  in 
the  aggregate,  probably  causes  more  inconvenience  to 


180          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

transportation  than  benefit  to  it.  The  North  Shore  Chan- 
nel and  the  canals  called  arms,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
stockyards,  appear  to  be  of  little  or  no  use  to  commerce. 

If  Chicago  needs  canals  for  commerce,  canals  should 
be  built  and  maintained  frankly  for  that  purpose.  But  in 
this  event  they  should  be  kept  free  from  sewage,  follow- 
ing the  custom  of  Hamburg  and  many  cities.  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  use  highways  for  crude  sewage,  be  they  highways 
of  land  or  water.  If  the  city  needs  sewers  it  should  by  all 
means  have  sewers;  it  should  not  seek  to  get  along  by 
using  the  waterways  for  that  purpose.  Surely  Chicago  is 
not  so  backward  or  so  niggardly  as  to  refuse  to  adopt 
proper  means  of  carrying  the  sewage  away. 

The  policy  of  constructing  the  Drainage  Canal  and 
reversing  the  flow  of  the  Chicago  River  is  unquestionably 
sound  when  considered  from  the  sanitary  standpoint,  and 
nothing  in  this  report  should  be  understood  as  expressing 
an  opinion  to  the  contrary.  It  has  the  merit  of  standing 
as  the  first  great  step  toward  a  complete  and  permanent 
plan  of  sewage  disposal.  For  the  proper  operation  of  the 
Drainage  Canal  a  sufficient  supply  of  flushing  water  from 
Lake  Michigan  is  indispensable.  It  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  a  certain  amount  of  dredging  will  always  be 
necessary.  It  is  upon  what  the  Board  of  Experts  con- 
siders to  be  a  mistaken  policy  in  the  use  of  the  Drainage 
Canal  and  other  waterways  that  criticism  is  here  based. 

10.— STANDARDS  OF  CLEANNESS  SUGGESTED  FOR  THE 

WATERWAYS. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  no  single  guage  which 
can  be  applied  to  the  Chicago  River  and  the  Desplaines 
and  Illinois  Rivers  by  which  to  describe  their  condition 
with  mathematical  accuracy.  It  is  impossible  to  analyze 
the  water-and-sewage  mixture  and  say  that  it  does  or  does 
not  comply  with  any  specified  requirements,  for  there  is 
no  universally  accepted  standard  which  applies  to  it.  The 
nearest  approach  to  such  a  criterion  lies  in  the  amount  of 
dissolved  oxygen  present;  but  the  oxygen  cannot  give  an 
idea  of  the  color,  suspended  matter,  or  odor,  particularly 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  181 

if  the  pollution  is  recent.  Nevertheless,  a  consideration  of 
all  the  facts  makes  it  seem  perfectly  plain  that  the  inten- 
tions of  the  Legislature  as  to  the  protection  of  the  Des- 
plaines  and  Illinois  Rivers  have  not  been  complied  with. 

The  degree  of  cleanness  which  is  necessary  and  suf- 
ficient for  the  water  depends  upon  many  considerations, 
including  the  location  of  the  place,  the  number  of  persons 
affected,  the  uses  to  which  the  water  is  put,  the  season  of 
the  year  and  the  protection  of  fish  life. 

In  England  the  law  requires  that  the  sewage  of  large 
towns  shall  be  treated  before  it  is  discharged  into  the 
streams,  the  Rivers  Pollution  Prevention  Act  of  1876  im- 
posing on  the  local  authority  the  duty  of  adopting  the 
best  practical  and  available  means  to  render  the  sewage 
harmless  before  it  enters  the  river.  Standards  for  the 
effluents  of  purification  works  have  been  proposed  by  the 
Royal  Commission  on  Sewage  Disposal  in  their  Fourth, 
Fifth  and  Eighth  Reports,  the  present  position  of  this  au- 
thority being  that  the  standard  of  purity  for  a  sewage 
effluent  should  vary  with  the  volume,  velocity  and  quality 
of  the  river  water.  In  all  cases  the  object  to  be  accom- 
plished is  the  avoidance  of  the  conditions  which  are  de- 
fined in  the  Fifth  Report  of  the  Royal  Commission  issued 
in  1908,  Part  VI,  paragraph  303,  p.  217.  This  paragraph 
is  as  follows: 

"The  harm  caused  by  allowing  unpurified,  or  imperfectly 
purified,  sewage  to  flow  into  rivers  and  streams  may  be  placed 
under  one  or  more  of  the  following  headings  :  The  de-aeration 
of  the  water  of  the  river,  and  consequent  injury  to  fish ;  the 
putrefaction  of  organic  matter  in  the  river  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  cause  nuisance;  the  production  of  sewage  fungus  and 
other  objectionable  growths;  the  deposition  of  suspended  mat- 
ter, and  its  accumulation  in  the  river  bed  or  behind  weirs ;  the 
discharge  into  the  river  of  substances,  in  solution  or  suspen- 
sion, which  are  poisonous  to  fish  or  to  live  stock  drinking 
from  the  stream ;  the  discoloration  of  the  river ;  and  the  dis- 
charge into  the  river  of  micro-organisms  of  intestinal  deriva- 
tion, some  of  which  are  of  a  kind  liable,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, to  give  rise  to  disease." 

In  order  to  fix  upon  a  standard  of  cleanness  suitable 
for  New  York  Harbor,  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Com- 


182  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

mission  of  New  York  had  a  number  of  European  and 
American  sanitary  experts  report  individually  upon  this 
subject,  and  from  the  opinions  so  expressed,  formulated  a 
standard  or  limit  of  pollution  to  serve  as  a  guide  in  the 
design  of  the  sewage  disposal  works  which  were  required. 

The  New  York  standard  specified  that  garbage,  ofYal, 
or  solid  matter  recognizable  as  of  sewage  origin  should 
not  be  visible  in  any  of  the  city's  waterways.  Marked  dis- 
coloration or  turbidity  due  to  sewage  or  trade  wastes,  ef- 
fervescence, oily  sleek  odor  or  deposits  should  not  occur, 
except,  perhaps,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  sewer  out- 
falls and  then  only  in  such  places  and  to  such  an  extent 
as  were  permitted  by  the  authority  having  jurisdiction 
over  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  harbor.  The  discharge 
of  sewage  should  not  materially  add  to  the  formation  of 
deposits  injurious  to  navigation.  The  preservation  of  fish 
life,  not  being  a  consideration,  it  was  at  first  recom- 
mended that  the  dissolved  oxygen  in  the  water  be  not  al- 
lowed to  fall  below  3.00  cubic  centimeters  per  liter  of 
writer.  This  amount  of  oxygen  would  be  about  58  per 
cent  of  saturation  under  summer  conditions.  The  oxygen 
limit  wras  finally  eliminated  as  not  necessary,  for,  if  the 
other  conditions  were  complied  with,  it  was  evident  that 
there  would  then  be  ample  oxygen  in  the  water.* 

In  September,  1913,  a  committee  of  the  American 
Public  Health  Association  reported  the  results  of  a  study 
of  the  ways  in  which  sewage  and  industrial  wastes  might 
prove  objectionable  when  discharged  into  water  courses, 
the  means  by  which  these  conditions  might  be  expressed 
and  the  permissible  limits  of  pollution  which  it  would  be 
reasonable  to  impose  under  various  circumstances.  It 
was  recognized  that  some  index  of  pollution  should  be 
devised,  even  though  it  be  somewhat  arbitrary,  but  the 
committee  was  unable  to  propose  one. 

The  opinion  was  expressed  that  the  standard  should 
rest  not  only  upon  analyses,  but  also  on  the  conditions 


*Present  Sanitary  Condition  of  New  York  Harbor  and  the  Degree  of  Clean- 
ness which  is  Necessary  and  Sufficient  for  the  water.  Report  of  the  Metro- 
politan Sewerage  Commission  of  New  York,  August,  1912,  Part  II,  pp.  69-164. 
Also  Report  of  April  30,  1914,  Part  III,  The  Oxygen  Question,  p.  15  et  seq. 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  183 

which  were  revealed  by  inspection.  The  aesthetic  sense 
of  the  community  should  not  be  offended  by  water  ob- 
viously foul.  Where  the  waterways  were  used  for  recrea- 
tion purposes,  and  this  use  was  to  be  encouraged,  the 
water  must  look  clean  and  there  must  be  no  sewage  or 
other  waste  discharged  into  it  that  would  injuriously  af- 
fect the  appearance  or  odor,  even  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  sewer  outfalls.  The  possible  injury  to  cattle  from 
drinking  from  polluted  water  courses  and  the  injury  to 
industries  should  be  settled  upon  economic  grounds. 
With  respect  to  cleanness  for  cleanness'  sake,  the  position 
of  the  committee  was  very  much  like  that  which  had  been 
expressed  by  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Commission  of 
New  York.* 

One  of  the  most  important  steps  to  be  taken  at  Chi- 
cago is  to  fix,  tentatively,  at  least,  upon  standards  of 
cleanness  for  the  open  waterways,  the  Drainage  Canal 
and  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers.  Owing  to  the  dif 
ferent  circumstances  which  surround  these  waterways  in 
different  places,  a  single  standard  should  not  be  made  for 
all,  but  different  standards,  or  modifications  of  a  general 
standard,  should  be  prepared  which  will  be  applicable 
where  needed.  The  standards  should  be  based  upon  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  what  it  is  desirable  and  practicable 
to  accomplish.  At  first  the  requirements  should  be  com- 
paratively lenient,  otherwise  the  cost  of  complying  with 
them  will  seem  to  be  prohibitive. 

As  a  tentative  list  of  minimum  requirements,  it  is 
suggested  that,  (a)  Solids  which  can  readily  be  recog- 
nized as  of  sewage  origin  should  not  occur  in  any  part  of 
the  waterways  of  the  Sanitary  District;  (b)  Putrefactive 
decomposition  should  not  occur  in  those  parts  of  the  Chi- 
cago River  and  its  tributaries  and  outlet  which  pass 
through  built-up  sections  of  Chicago  or  any  other  city  or 
town  or  village;  (c)  Conditions  necessary  for  healthy  fish 
life  should  be  maintained  from  Lake  Michigan  through 


*Report  of  the  Committee  on  River  Cleaning  of  the  American  Public  Health 
Association;  American  Journal  of  Public  Health,  Vol.  IV,  No.  10,  Oct.,  1914, 
pp.  934-938. 


184          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

the  South  Branch,  Drainage  Channel,  Desplaines  and  Illi- 
nois Rivers  and  in  at  least  the  larger  arms  and  tributaries 
of  these  waterways. 

11.— HOW  THE  PROPER  DEGREE  OF  CLEANNESS  CAN 

BE  OBTAINED. 

There  is  but  one  way  to  insure  a  proper  degree  of 
cleanness  for  Chicago's  waterways  and  that  is  to  keep  out 
of  them  the  sewage  which  makes  them  foul.  They  must 
always  receive  most  of  the  storm  water,  and  unless  the 
entire  sewerage  system  is  rebuilt  on  the  separate  plan, 
some  domestic  sewage  will  be  swept  into  the  stream  from 
the  sewers  at  times  of  rainfall.  But  it  is  entirely  feasible 
to  keep  out  the  great  bulk  of  domestic  sewage,  and  this 
should  be  done. 

The  works  which  will  be  required  for  this  purpose 
will  be  similar  in  their  general  character  to  those  which 
have  been  built  by  other  cities.  Intercepting  sewers  are 
needed  to  collect  the  sewage  before  it  discharges  to  the 
waterways,  and  to  carry  it  to  a  place  or  places,  where  it 
can  be  sufficiently  purified  to  permit  of  its  being  dis- 
charged into  those  waterways  which  may  properly  re- 
ceive it. 

The  exact  location  of  the  treatment  works  and  the 
precise  method  of  treatment  can  only  be  determined  after 
careful  surveys  and  other  studies  have  been  made  of  the 
topography,  distribution  of  population,  character  of 
municipal  development,  and  other  matters  concerned  with 
the  region.  The  design  of  the  sewage  disposal  works 
should  depend  not  only  upon  the  sanitary  requirements 
but  also  upon  the  particular  circumstances  and  conditions 
under  which  they  must  operate.  Probably  the  inter- 
ceptors which  will  be  necessary  can  be  built  in  more  than 
one  location  and  their  best  position  can  only  be  arrived  at 
by  a  mature  consideration  of  the  possibilities  of  each. 

With  respect  to  the  location  of  the  disposal  works, 
a  large  number  of  possible  sites  would  doubtless  have  to 
be  considered  before  a  wise  choice  could  be  made.  In  all' 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  185 

probability,  there  will  ultimately  be  needed  one  large 
plant  and  a  number  of  smaller  ones. 

The  method  of  treatment  which  the  sewage  should 
receive  ought  to  be  nicely  adapted  to  the  work  to  be  per- 
formed and  to  the  opportunities  which  the  site,  the  com- 
position of  the  sewage  and  the  necessary  degree  of  purifi- 
cation permit. 

It  is  extremely  doubtful  if  there  would  be  any  need  of 
inventing  new  methods  of  collecting  or  of  disposing  of  the 
sewage,  but  in  the  adaptation  of  well  established  princi- 
ples to  the  particular  conditions  to  be  met  with,  there 
would  be  room  for  the  exercise  of  much  ingenuity  and 
skill. 

All  work  should  be  so  planned  as  to  fit  into,  and  be  a 
part  of,  a  comprehensive  system  of  sewage  disposal  for 
the  entire  Sanitary  District.  It  is  not  necessary  that  all 
parts  of  the  system  should  be  built  at  once  or  in  the  near 
future. 

The  system  as  designed  would  represent  a  program 
of  construction,  the  various  parts  of  which  would  be  con- 
structed as  opportunity  and  necessity  required.  All  local 
sewerage  would  be  tributary  to  this  system. 

The  processes  of  sewage  treatment  which  would  ulti- 
mately be  required  might  not  be  the  same  as  those  which 
at  the  outset  would  be  sufficient.  The  treatment  plants 
should  be  so  designed  as  to  permit  of  considerable  devel- 
opment along  lines  which  would  make  for  greater  and 
greater  efficiency  without  undue  loss  of  completed  work. 

The  Drainage  Channel  should  be  employed  to  carry 
off  the  effluent  from  practically  all  the  treated  sewage  of 
the  central  part  of  the  city,  and  if  possible,  participate  in 
the  purifying  process.  The  disposal  of  the  sewage  which 
originates  far  to  the  north  of  Chicago  and  that  of  the  sew- 
age from  the  south  are  separate  problems  and  should  be 
solved  separately,  as  far  as  practicable.  This  sewage 
should  not  be  brought  toward  the  center  of  population  for 
disposal,  but  kept  away  from  it. 

The  Drainage  Channel  should  be  reserved  chiefly  for 
the  disposal  of  the  sewage  which  originates  in  the  thickly 


186          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

built-up  part  of  the  city.    Chicago's  main  sewage  disposal 
plant  should  be  located  to  the  west  of  the  city. 

In  recommending  that  the  sewage  of  Chicago  shall 
be  treated,  the  Board  of  Experts  is  fully  aware  that  they 
are  suggesting  a  proposition  which  involves  a  large  sum 
of  money.  The  cost  can  be  determined  only  after  the 
plans  are  made.  As  in  the  case  of  all  engineering  works, 
the  initial  and  annual  expense  should  be  kept  down  to  the 
lowest  figure  which  is  consistent  with  the  results  to  be 
attained. 

12.— THE  POLICY  OF  DISCHARGING  THE  SEWAGE  INTO 
THE  ILLINOIS  VALLEY. 

The  State  law  which  provided  for  the  creation  of  the 
Sanitary  District  distinctly  stated  that  the  sewage  must 
not  be  allowed  to  produce  a  nuisance,  and  it  would  appear 
that  the  people  of  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Valleys  have 
a  right  to  insist  that  Chicago  take  care  of  its  sewage  and 
not  send  it  down  to  poison  the  waters  of  that  beautiful 
region.  That  there  has  been  some  compensation  afforded 
in  the  form  of  increased  water  power  and  fish  food  and 
that  some  justification  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  towns  along 
the  rivers  are  themselves  polluting  the  water,  is  true.  But 
no  polluting  matters  which  the  people  in  the  valley  could 
pour  into  the  river  would  render  the  water  so  foul  as  it  is 
today,  and  no  efforts  which  they  could  make  would  re- 
store the  river  to  its  original  purity.  And  the  benefit  of 
water  and  of  fish  are  benefits  to  but  few;  they  are  largely 
offset  by  the  injury  done  to  the  low  lands  by  flooding. 

Justification  for  the  pollution  of  the  Desplaines  and 
Illinois  Valleys  is  sometimes  urged  on  the  ground  that  a 
sanitary  improvement  is  a  strictly  commercial  proposi- 
tion, the  justice  of  which  is  to  be  determined  by  weighing 
the  money  gained  against  the  money  lost.  According  to 
this  theory,  if  it  costs  a  greater  sum  to  abate  a  nuisance 
than  the  loss  which  the  nuisance  occasions,  it  is  better  not 
to  abate  it.  This  mercenary  way  of  looking  at  the  matter 
has  little  of  justice  about  it.  Health  and  money  are  not 
interchangeable  commodities.  And  at  best  the  validity  of 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  187 

this  argument  would  depend  upon  whom  the  burden  fell. 
If  the  nuisance  produced  loss  only  to  those  who  caused  it, 
the  argument  might  have  some  force,  but  when  the  sew- 
age of  a  city  does  injury  to  a  great  valley  for  one  hundred 
miles,  the  unfairness  of  this  manner  of  reasoning  becomes 
apparent. 

Were  it  impossible  for  Chicago  to  dispose  of  its  sew- 
age in  any  other  way  than  by  sending  it  down  into  the 
country  without  any  attempt  at  purification,  there  would 
be  some  color  of  excuse  for  continuing  the  present  scheme 
of  final  disposition.  But  this  is  not  the  fact.  No  one  who 
is  familiar  with  modern  methods  of  sewage  disposal,  can 
question  the  practicability  of  removing  large  quantities 
of  the  most  offensive  solid  matters  before  the  sewage  is 
discharged  and  of  rendering  innocuous  and  inert  the 
residual  liquid.  In  fact,  sewage  can  be  purified  to  any 
extent  desired — the  limit  depends  merely  upon  the  cost 
which  can  be  incurred. 

That  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  have  not  insisted 
that  some  better  scheme  of  disposal  should  be  employed  is 
probably  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  no  better  scheme  has 
been  known  to  them,  and  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  Des- 
plaines  and  Illinois  Rivers  are  in  better  condition  than 
they  were  when  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  was  car- 
rying the  sewage  of  Chicago  to  them  with  less  dilution. 

The  best  time  for  the  valley  to  have  objected  was 
when  the  Drainage  and  Ship  Canal  was  being  projected, 
and  it  appears  that  there  was  objection  made  to  it  at  that 
time.  It  seems  that  the  protests  delayed  the  passage  of 
the  Sanitary  District  bill  through  the  State  Legislature 
for  two  years.  Material  modifications  were  then  made  in 
the  Act  as  originally  drawn  and  it  became  law.  In  the  bill 
as  finally  passed,  it  was  distinctly  stated  that  the  flow  of 
water  and  sewage  from  the  District's  channels  should  be 
neither  offensive  nor  injurious  to  any  of  the  people  of  the 
State.  Section  20  of  the  District  Act  is  as  follows: 

"Any  channel  or  outlet  constructed  under  the  provisions 
of  this  Act  which  shall  cause  the  discharge  of  sewage  into  or 
through  any  river  or  stream  of  water  beyond  or  without  the 


188          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

limits  of  the  district  constructing  the  same,  shall  be  of  suffi- 
cient size  and  capacity  to  produce  a  continuous  flow  of  water 
of  at  least  two  hundred  cubic  feet  per  minute  for  each  one 
hundred  thousand  of  the  population  of  the  district  drained 
thereby,  and  the  same  shall  be  kept  and  maintained  of  such 
size  and  in  such  condition  that  the  water  thereof  shall  be 
neither  offensive  or  injurious  to  the  health  of  any  of  the  peo- 
ple of  this  state ;  and  before  any  sewage  shall  be  discharged 
into  such  channel  or  outlet,  all  garbage,  dead  animals  and 
parts  thereof,  and  other  solids  shall  be  taken  therefrom,  and 
said  district  shall,  at  the  time  any  sewage  is  turned  into  or 
through  any  such  channel  or  channels,  turn  into  said  channel 
or  channels  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  feet  of  water  per 
minute  for  every  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  of  said 
district,  and  shall  forever  thereafter  maintain  the  flow  of  such 
quantity  of  water." 

From  the  foregoing,  it  appears  that  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict is  compelled  by  law  to  maintain  sanitary  conditions 
in  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers.  The  law  does  not 
relieve  the  District  from  responsibility  for  the  sanitary 
consequences  of  its  acts  any  more  than  it  relieves  it  from 
responsibility  for  flood  damages.  It  is  quite  clear  that 
the  Legislature  intended  there  should  be  no  nuisance. 

13.— SANITARY  AUTHORITY  FOR  THE  PRESENT  RATIO 

OF  DILUTION. 

History  shows  that  the  plan  of  discharging  the  sew- 
age into  the  Illinois  Valley  and  relying  on  the  forces  of 
nature  to  purify  it,  is  the  outcome  of  years  of  effort  to 
improve  the  condition  of  the  Chicago  River  and  Lake 
Michigan  and  not  the  result  of  a  carefully  worked  out 
theory  of  sewage  purification.  It  was  not  founded  upon 
a  knowledge  of  how  the  forces  of  nature  would  act,  or  how 
they  should  be  employed  in  order  that  the  best  results 
might  be  accomplished. 

The  scheme  as  it  exists  today  is  the  outcome  of  the 
accidental  circumstance  that  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
Canal  had  to  be  fed  from  the  Chicago  River.  When  the 
outlet  first  provided  was  found  to  be  effective  in  carrying 
filth  away,  it  was  enlarged  and  then  enlarged  again.' 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  189 

When  no  further  enlargement  was  practicable,  a  new, 
and  greater  canal  was  built. 

In  all  other  means  of  disposing  of  sewage  than  dis- 
charge into  water,  definite  measures  are  employed  to 
accomplish  definite  ends.  Arrangements  are  provided 
whereby  greater  or  less  use  can  be  made  of  the  principles 
of  purification  upon  which  the  success  of  the  process 
depends. 

The  words  "method"  and  "system"  imply  an  orderly 
arrangement  of  parts  toward  a  desired  end,  and  in  scien- 
tific methods  of  sewage  disposal  this  arrangement  pro- 
ceeds according  to  rules  for  the  application  of  the  mechan- 
ical, biological  and  chemical  principles  involved.  Few,  if 
any,  rules  are  followed  in  disposing  of  sewage  by  dilu- 
tion. Practically  the  only  specification  is  that  there  shall 
be  at  least  a  certain  quantity  of  diluting  water  for  a  given 
quantity  of  sewage.  Very  little  is  known  about  the  con- 
ditions which  have  to  be  brought  about  in  order  that  the 
sewage  materials  shall  be  assimilated  without  nuisance  or 
injury  to  health.  Strictly  speaking,  disposal  by  dilution 
is  less  a  method  than  a  means  of  avoiding  the  employ- 
ment of  a  method  of  sewage  disposal. 

It  is  interesting  to  learn  how  the  State  came  to 
specify  how  little  water  Chicago  might  use  for  the  dis- 
posal of  her  sewage  by  dilution.  Under  date  of  May  31, 
1906,  Gen.  O.  H.  Ernst,  Chairman  of  the  American  Sec- 
tion of  the  International  Waterways  Commission,  asked 
Mr.  Lyman  E.  Cooley  upon  what  sanitary  authority 
rested  the  Illinois  State  law  that  20,000  cubic  feet  per  sec- 
ond of  water  must  be  diverted  into  the  Chicago  Drainage 
Channel  for  every  100,000  inhabitants,  and  how  much 
water  was  really  required  to  dilute  the  sewage.  In  a  reply 
dated  June  29,  1906,  Mr.  Cooley  reviewed  the  considera- 
tions which  determined  the  ratio  of  dilution  in  the  Sani- 
tary District  Law  and  told  how  he  justified  the  same. 

Mr.  Cooley  said  that  he  had  "had  everything  to  do  in 
determining  the  prime  essentials  of  the  Sanitary  District 
law  above  quoted."  He  had  projected  the  work  in  its 
substantial  outlines  in  a  report  which  he  had  drafted  for 


190          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

a  committee  of  the  Citizens'  Association  in  September, 
1885.  As  Chief  Assistant  to  the  Water  Supply  and  Drain- 
age Commission  in  1886-7,  he  had  charge  of  the  canal 
solution.  He  was  Consulting  Engineer  to  the  State  Board 
of  Health  in  1887-9  and  again  in  1891,  while  its  chemical 
investigation  of  the  stream  between  Lake  Michigan  and 
St.  Louis  was  under  way.  He  was  Consulting  Engineer 
to  the  joint  committee  of  the  Legislature  that  framed  the 
Sanitary  District  act,  and  later  represented  before  the 
General  Assembly  the  several  organizations  of  Chicago 
which  were  engaged  in  promoting  this  legislation. 

The  reply  to  General  Ernst  does  not  give  any  data  in 
support  of  the  State  law  that  the  sewage  of  every  100,000 
inhabitants  shall  be  diluted  with  at  least  20,000  cubic  feet 
of  water  per  minute,  nor  does  it  state  that  the  amount  of 
diluting  water  had  been  accurately  determined.  The 
Water  and  Drainage  Board  of  1886-7  had  recommended 
a  dilution  of  24,000  cubic  feet  per  minute,  but  without  pre- 
senting any  justification  for  doing  so,  and  not  with  the 
idea  that  their  recommendation  would  be  regarded  as 
final.  The  committee  of  the  Legislature  which  considered 
the  Hurd  bill  for  the  creation  of  the  Sanitary  District  in 
1887  developed  much  diversity  of  opinion  and  could  not 
tell  what  allowance  to  provide  for.  Mr.  Cooley  says  in 
his  letter: 

"Personal  opinions  ranged  from  14,000  feet  per  minute  to 
30,000  feet,  and  some  wished  to  leave  the  matter  entirely  open. 
As  no  agreement  could  be  reached,  the  whole  subject  was  re- 
ferred to  the  consulting  engineer  late  in  1888,  and  after  a  pain- 
staking investigation  he  reported,  and  the  results  were  em- 
bodied in  the  draft  of  the  bill  and  subsequently  became  law." 
The  data  available  for  Mr.  Cooley's  investigations, 
he  says,  were:    A  study  of  the  filth-producing  industries 
of  Chicago  and  the  condition  of  the  Chicago  River,  and 
the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal;  the  history  and  condition 
of  the  sewage  in  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers  for  the 
fifteen  years  prior  to  1887  between  Joliet  and  La  Salle;  the 
results  of  the  State  Board  of  Health's  chemical  investiga- 
tion over  the  route  from  Lake  Michigan  to  St.  Louis ;  the 
conditions    produced   by   the    distilleries    at    Peoria   and' 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  191 

Pekin.  There  were  also  reports  on  the  condition  of  the 
Seine  at  and  below  Paris,  reports  on  the  Sewage  disposal 
works  at  Berlin,  three  reports  by  Parliamentary  Commis- 
sions on  river  pollution  in  Great  Britain,  reports  on  the 
pollution  of  streams  in  Massachusetts  and  reports  on  the 
pollution  of  the  Passaic  River  in  New  Jersey. 

"The  general  result  arrived  at,"  Mr.  Cooley  says  in  his 
letter,  "was  that  14,000  cubic  feet  per  minute  would  be  ade- 
quate for  a  normal  city  population,  such  as  usually  obtained  in 
New  England  and  in  Europe,  but  that  this  ratio  should  be 
increased  about  fifty  per  cent  on  account  of  the  special  in- 
dustries characteristic  of  Chicago  and  the  quality  of  her  site 
— flat  topography,  with  impermeable  subsoil.  These  consider- 
ations raised  the  dilution  ratio  to  20,000  cubic  feet  per  minute 
as  a  minimum,  and  it  was  so  recommended.* 

14.— LIMITATIONS     OF     DISPOSAL     BY     DILUTION     AT 

CHICAGO. 

The  efforts  which  have  been  made  to  dispose  of  Chi- 
cago's sewage  and  the  consequences  which  have  followed 
make  it  clear  to  the  Board  of  Experts  that  radical  im- 
provements will  have  to  be  carried  out  in  order  to  make 
the  scheme  a  sanitary  success. 

The  conditions  of  the  present  have  been  sufficiently 
described.  The  outlook  for  better  conditions  in  the  future, 
when  the  population  becomes  greater  and  the  volume  of 
sewage  increases,  is  exceedingly  dark. 

One  of  two  things  will  have  to  be  done;  either  dis- 
posal by  dilution  will  have  to  be  given  up,  or  it  must  be 
placed  upon  a  more  efficient  footing.  Every  consideration 
favors  the  latter  alternative.  It  is  desirable  that  the 
functions  and  limitations  of  the  present  means  of  dispos- 
ing of  the  sewage  shall  be  determined  and  the  fullest  use 
made  of  the  diluting  power  of  the  water  which  is  con- 
sistent with  a  due  regard  to  the  sanitary  amenities.  There 
is  nothing  wrong  with  the  idea  of  utilizing  the  self-purify- 
ing power  of  the  water  to  the  limit  in  getting  rid  of  the 

*Report  International  Waterways  Commission,  January  4,  1907,  Appendix 
B,  Letter  from  Lyman  E.  Cooley,  Esq.,  to  General  O.  H.  Ernst,  Chairman  of 
American  Section. 


192          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

sewage.  The  whole  difficulty  with  Chicago's  scheme  of 
sewage  disposal  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  proper  limit  has 
not  been  recognized  and  the  necessary  works  developed 
accordingly. 

It  is  of  prime  importance  that  the  functions  of  water 
in  assimilating  sewage  shall  be  understood,  and,  when 
understood,  applied.  One  of  these  functions  lies  in  the 
oxidizing  of  the  organic  matters.  A  large  amount  of 
work  has  recently  been  done  in  connection  with  the  sub- 
ject in  various  parts  of  the  world. 

It  is  desirable  that  the  present-day  theories  as  to  the 
demands  which  sewage  makes  upon  the  oxygen  be  exam- 
ined, and  if  found  correct,  applied;  that  the  supposed  man- 
ner in  which  the  absorption  of  oxygen  takes  place  from 
the  atmosphere  be  tested  and  the  correct  principles  estab- 
lished under  which  the  natural  supply  of  oxygen  in  the 
water  can  be  reinforced.  It  is  possible  that  recent  experi- 
ments in  Europe  and  America  may  be  helpful  in  showing 
the  extent  to  which  artificial  aeration  may  be  of  much 
service. 

The  experience  of  other  cities  in  making  use  of  the 
principle  of  sewage  disposal  by  dilution  may  or  may  not 
be  helpful:  Mere  ratios  of  dilution  mean  little.  It  is  rare 
to  find  two  situations  alike.  But  it  may  prove  suggestive 
to  consider  what  proportion  of  sewage  to  water  has  been 
thought  permissible  in  situations  not  altogether  unlike 
those  of  Chicago. 

The  following  conclusions  with  regard  to  ratios  of 
dilution,  standards  of  purity  and  methods  of  treatment 
reached  by  the  English  Royal  Commission  on  Sewage 
Disposal,  are  stated  in  their  Eighth  Report: 

"Our  experience  leads  us  to  think  that  as  a  general  rule, 
if  the  dilution,  while  not  falling  below  150  volumes,  does  not 
exceed  300,  the  dissolved  oxygen  absorption  test  may  be 
omitted,  and  the  standard  for  suspended  solids  fixed  at  6  parts 
per  100,000.  To  comply  with  this  test  no  treatment  beyond 
chemical  precipitation  would  ordinarily  be  needed.  If  the 
dilution,  while  not  falling  below  300  volumes,  does  not  exceed 
500,  the  standard  for  suspended  solids  may  be  further  relaxed 
to  15  parts  per  100,000.  For  this  purpose  tank  treatment. 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  193 

without  chemicals  would  generally  suffice  if  the  tanks  were 
properly  worked  and  regularly  cleansed.  These  relaxed  stand- 
ards should  be  subject  to  revision  at  periods  to  be  fixed  by 
the  Central  Authority,  and  the  periods  should  be  shorter  than 
those  prescribed  for  the  general  or  the  more  stringent  stand- 
ards. 

"\Yith  a  dilution  of  over  500  volumes  all  tests  might  be 
dispensed  with,  and  crude  sewage  discharged,  subject  to  such 
conditions  as  the  provision  of  screens  or  detritus  tanks  as 
might  appear  necessary  to  the  Central  Authority." 

The  ratios  referred  to  are  based  on  ordinary  English 
domestic  sewage  of,  say  25  Imperial  gallons  (30  U.  S.  gal- 
lons) per  head  per  day,  and  would  not  apply  without  cor- 
rection to  the  more  dilute  sewages  of  America.  The  fol- 
lowing table  in  which  the  proper  corrections  have  been 
made,  will  show  how  the  volumes  per  head  contemplated 
by  the  Commissioners  compare  with  that  which  has  been 
adopted  in  the  case  of  Chicago: 

Gallons  per  head 
per  day. 

Chicago  sewage   200 

Diluting  water,  3.3  cu.  ft.  per  sec.  per  1,000  people  2,138 

Total    2,338 

Recommended  by  Royal  Commission. 

T^.,     .  Gallons  per  day 

Previous  treatment.  Dilution.  ,       ,        J 

per  head. 

Chemical  precipitation  150  to  300  volumes  4,500  to    9,000 

Sedimentation  300  to  500  volumes  9,000  to  15,000 

Screening  or  detritus  tanks  over         500  volumes        over  15,000 

The  English  ratio  of  dilution  for  screened  sewage 
is  more  than  seven  times  the  Chicago  rate  for  crude  sew- 
age. In  order  to  satisfy  the  English  standard,  the  sewage 
of  Chicago  would  have  to  be  subjected  to  some  form  of 
tank  treatment  or  its  equivalent,  and  then  passed  through 
oxidizing  filters  before  being  discharged  into  the  Drain- 
age Channel.  In  no  case  do  the  Royal  Commissioners 
contemplate  the  discharge  of  unscreened  sewage,  how- 
ever great  the  dilution. 


194          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

It  is,  of  course,  not  suggested  that  the  standards 
which  have  been  proposed  for  England  necessarily  apply 
to  the  case  now  under  consideration :  the  special  circum- 
stances of  the  Drainage  Channel  may  quite  properly  be 
taken  into  account.  It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  the 
public  opinion  of  Chicago  will  permanently  be  satisfied 
with  a  standard  of  cleanness  which  is  inferior  to  that 
which  is  recommended  in  England. 

In  regard  to  the  capacity  of  the  water  to  assimilate 
sewage,  it  is  worth  while  to  note  that  there  are  seasonal 
differences  in  the  amount  of  dissolved  oxygen  present  in 
the  lake  water  which  operate  against  disposal  by  dilution. 
The  water  holds  only  about  one-half  as  much  oxygen  in 
summer  as  in  winter.  And  in  summer  when  the  oxygen 
content  is  least,  the  demand  upon  it  is  greatest,  for  it  is 
then  that  the  activity  of  the  bacteria  of  decomposition  is 
at  a  maximum  and  the  augmentation  of  the  volume  of 
diluting  water  by  the  natural  flow  of  the  river  is  at  a 
minimum. 

Even  if  Chicago  were  content  with  the  condition  of 
the  Drainage  Channel  and  the  rivers  into  which  it  dis- 
charges, that  condition,  poor  as  it  is,  will  steadily  de- 
teriorate, and  the  time  has  now  arrived  when  she  must 
face  the  need  of  supplementing  the  process  of  dilution 
by  some  preliminary  treatment  wherein  the  demand  made 
by  the  sewage  on  the  oxidizing  power  of  the  diluting 
water  may  be  reduced. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  Drainage  Canal  has  been 
useless.  Far  from  it.  In  the  diluting  water  which  is 
drawn  from  Lake  Michigan,  Chicago  has  an  asset  of  the 
greatest  importance,  and  the  Drainage  Channel  is  a  valu- 
able asset  for  its  utilization.  Apart  from  its  utility  as  a 
waterway,  the  justification  for  the  Drainage  Channel  lies 
in  the  fact  that  it  constitutes  a  first  step  towards  provid- 
ing Chicago  with  a  water  supply  which  shall  be  not  only 
safe  but  attractive,  and  towards  converting  the  Chicago 
River  into  a  stream  of  appropriate  cleanness  and  purity. 
There  was  no  need  to  cut  a  $64,000,000  canal  merely  for 
the  sake  of  removing  the  danger  to  the  water  supply.  It 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  195 

would  have  been  cheaper,  far  cheaper,  to  go  on  turning 
the  sewage  into  the  lake,  and  to  rely  on  nitration  for  the 
protection  of  the  water  supply. 

Particular  attention  to  the  conditions  favorable,  and 
unfavorable,  to  the  disposal  of  sewage  through  dilution 
has  been  paid  by  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of 
Health.  No  set  of  men  have  had  so  broad  an  opportunity 
to  study  this  question  as  intelligently  or  over  so  long  a 
period  of  time.  In  a  special  report  issued  by  the  Board  in 
1890,  a  table  was  given  showing  the  chemical  ingredients 
added  to  streams  by  domestic  sewage  for  various  ratios  of 
population  to  quantities  of  water  flowing.*  It  was  stated 
that  objectionable  conditions  might  exist  when  the  ratio 
included  ratios  of  diluting  water  from  2.5  to  7.0  cubic  feet 
per  second  per  1,000  persons  contributing  the  sewage. 
The  Board  said  (p.  791) : 

"With  smaller  volumes  of  water  the  pollution  is  so  great 
as  to  be  inadmissible.  With  lower  volumes,  the  pollution  is 
so  small  as  to  be  clearly  admissible  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
offensiveness  of  the  water." 

The  information  furnished  by  subsequent  investiga- 
tions considerably  narrowed  the  debatable  ground  and  it 
was  stated  by  Mr.  X.  H.  Goodnough,  Chief  Engineer  of 
the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Health,  in  a  report  pub- 
lished in  i9O3,f  that 

"when  the  rate  of  dilution  is  less  than  3.5  cubic  feet  per  sec- 
ond, objectionable  conditions  are  likely  to  result  from  the  dis- 
charge of  sewage  into  a  stream;  while,  in  cases  where  the 
dilution  exceeds  6.0  cubic  feet  per  second  per  1,000  persons, 
objectionable  conditions  have  not  been  produced.  This  conclu- 
sion, as  already  indicated,  relates  only  to  the  effect  produced 
upon  a  stream  or  body  of  water  after  the  sewage  has  become 
mingled  with  it,  and  it  is  assumed  that  the  water  of  the 
stream  or  pond  receiving  sewage  is  unaffected  by  other 
pollution." 


*Examinations  by  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  the  Water  Supplies  and 
Inland  Waters  of  Massachusetts  1887-90;  Part  I  of  Report  on  Water  Supply 
and  Sewerage,  pp.  785-802,  dated  December  18,  1902. 

fReport  of  the  Committee  on  the  Charles  River  Dam  (Boston,  Mass.), 
Appendix  No.  5,  p.  307-8. 


196          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  a  special  Act 
of  the  Legislature  passed  in  1901,  examinations  were 
made  of  the  outlets  and  sources  and  the  effect  of  sewage 
disposal  throughout  Massachusetts,  and  at  the  end  of  a 
report  dated  August  20,  1903,*  is  given  a  summary  of  the 
ratios  of  dilution  which  were  found  to  be  necessary  for  in- 
offensive conditions.  It  is  stated  that: 

"The  results  of  the  investigation  show  that  where  the  quan- 
tity of  water  available  for  the  dilution  of  the  sewage  in  a 
stream  exceeds  about  6  cubic  feet  per  second,  per  1,000  'per- 
sons discharging  sewage,  objectionable  conditions  are  unlikely 
to  result  from  the  pollution  of  a  stream  in  dry  weather.  Under 
favorable  circumstances,  where  the  sewage  is  discharged  at 
many  outlets  into  a  large  body  of  water,  objectionable  condi- 
tions may  not  result  where  the  dilution  is  somewhat  less  than 
6  cubic  feet  per  second  per  1,000  persons;  but  objectionable 
conditions  have  resulted  in  all  cases  thus  far  examined  where 
the  flow  has  been  less  than  3.5  cubic  feet  per  second  per  1,000 
persons  discharging  sewage  into  the  stream." 

In  the  opinion  of  Messrs.  Hering  and  Fuller  as  ex- 
pressed in  their  1906  report  to  the  International  Water- 
ways Commission, f  a  dilution  of  3.3  cubic  feet  per  second 
per  1,000  of  population  would  prevent  nuisance  in  the  pro- 
posed Calumet  Canal  at  Chicago,  if  the  trade  wastes  were 
eliminated. 

15.— THE  INDUSTRIAL  WASTES   REPORT   OF   1914. 

For  many  years  the  sanitary  disposal  of  Chicago's 
sewage  has  been  complicated  by  the  fact  that  enormous 
quantities  of  putrifiable  wastes  were  produced  by  indus- 
trial establishments.  The  most  important  of  these  have 
been  concerned  in  the  slaughter  and  packing  of  cattle, 
hogs  and  sheep,  and  in  the  many  industries  connected 
therewith.  When  considering  the  allowance  of  diluting 
water  which  would  be  necessary  in  order  to  render  Chi- 
cago's sewage  unobjectionable,  Mr.  Cooley  says  that  in 
1889  he  estimated  that  the  wastes  coming  from  the  stock- 
yards and  rendering  establishments  alone  was  equivalent 


^Thirty-fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 1903,  p.  452.  '4 
fDocument  No.  293,  United  States  War  Department,  1907,  p.  45. 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  197 

to  the  sewage  of  700,000  people,  and  to  the  ratio  of  dilu- 
tion which  he  recommended  for  the  Drainage  and  Ship 
Canal  he  added  50  per  cent,  on  account  of  the  special 
characteristics  of  Chicago.* 

A  report  upon  the  treatment  of  the  wastes  from  the 
Stockyards  and  Packingtown  district  was  issued  by  the 
Sanitary  District  in  January,  1915.  Its  346  pages  are  de- 
voted to  the  conditions  which  exist  in  the  square  mile  of 
territory  within  the  city  limits  of  Chicago  where  the 
famous  slaughtering  and  packing  industries  are  located. 
The  drainage  from  this  territory  now  flows  into  the  east 
and  west  arms  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  South  Branch  of 
the  Chicago  River,  known  as  "Bubbly  Creek". 

In  this  territory  none  of  the  streets  has  been  dedi- 
cated; sewers  have  been  built  in  every  conceivable  direc- 
tion without  plan.  No  limit  is  placed  upon  the  quantity 
or  composition  of  the  liquid  and  semi-liquid  wastes  which 
may  be  thrown  into  the  sewers. 

The  industries  include  the  following:  The  handling 
and  storage  of  live  stock  of  all  kinds;  slaughtering  and 
packing;  butterine  works;  rendering  establishments;  soap 
factories;  glue  factories;  casing  works;  sausage  making; 
garbage  rendering;  canning  of  fruits,  vegetables  and 
meats;  pickle  manufacturing;  brewing;  fertilizer  works. 

Within  recent  years  there  has  been  some  restriction 
in  the  wastes  from  the  larger  establishments,  due  to  ef- 
forts made  to  utilize  the  by-products,  but  the  small  estab- 
lishments still  discharge  blood,  offal,  tankage  and  other 
objectionable  material  to  the  sewers.  The  amount  of  solid 
matter  emptied  through  the  sewers  into  Bubbly  Creek  is 
considerable.  Dredging  was  carried  on  in  1913  at  a  cost 
of  $34,534.05,  of  which  a  committee  of  the  packers  paid 
$26,864^38. 

The  sewage  is  very  strong  both  in  suspended  and 
dissolved  matter  and  is  much  warmer  than  the  domestic 
sewage  of  the  city.  Biological  tests  indicate  that  the  oxy- 

*Report  of  the  International  Waterways  Commission,  January  4,  1907, 
Appendix  B ;  Letter  of  Lyman  E.  Cooley  to  Gen.  O.  H.  Ernst,  Chairman,  Amer- 
ican Section,  June  29,  1906. 


198          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

gen  requirement  is  from  six  to  ten  times  that  of  ordinary 
sewage.  Practical  test  has  shown  that  all  the  methods  of 
sewage  treatment  which  are  applicable  to  city  sewage, 
either  domestic  or  combined,  can  be  used  to  purify  the 
sewage.  The  volume  in  1911  was  computed  to  be  31.7 
cubic  feet  per  second  by  day  and  12.2  cubic  feet  per  second 
by  night. 

In  order  to  determine  the  best  means  of  disposing  of 
the  wastes  of  the  stockyards  district,  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict established  an  experimental  testing  station  in  1912 
at  the  stockyards  with  funds  largely  subscribed  by  the 
industrial  establishments.  The  report  now  made  public 
gives  the  results  of  these  tests. 

The  report  recommends  that  the  larger  part  of 
"Bubbly  Creek"  be  filled  in  and  that  there  be  built  a  "com- 
munity" sewage  disposal  plant  to  purify  the  wastes  suffi- 
ciently to  permit  the  effluent  to  be  discharged  into  the 
Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal.  The  method  of  treatment  would 
employ  fine  screens  at  each  individual  house  or  group  of 
houses  belonging  to  a  firm  and  grease  skimming.  The 
sewage,  thus  relieved  of  its  coarser  ingredients,  would 
then  be  passed  through  a  sedimentation  plant  for  the 
whole  region  and  finally  discharged  into  the  Drainage 
Canal.  The  sedimentation  plant  would  be  located  at  the 
west  end  of  the  west  arm  of  the  South  Fork.  The  sewage 
would  be  carried  to  this  point  in  an  intercepting  sewer  to 
be  built  for  the  purpose. 

Ultimately,  biological  treatment,  presumably  in 
sprinkling  filters,  would  be  necessary,  and  for  this  purpose 
the  sewage  from  the  settling  basin  plant  would  be  car- 
ried westward  to  some  point  where  land  of  suitable  area 
and  price  could  be  obtained.  The  cost  of  the  first  stage 
would  be  $985,000  and  of  the  completed  project  $3,600,000, 
exclusive  of  land,  legal  and  engineering  expenses.  The 
volume  of  sewage  to  be  provided  for  is  not  given,  but  the 
report  states  that  to  carry  it  with  an  allowance  of  twice 
the  dry  weather  flow,  a  sewer  would  be  needed  approxi- 
mately 7.5  feet  in  diameter.  4 

The  report  gives  no  details  of  the  proposed  works, 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  199 

and  does  not  deal  with  the  larger  problem  of  disposing  of 
the  city's  sewage.  The  project  seems  good,  as  far  as  it 
goes,  and  is  in  line  with  what  the  experts  of  the  Real 
Estate  Board  think  should  be  done. 

16.— THE  CHIEF  ENGINEER'S  1911  REPORT  ON  THE  IN- 
TRODUCTION OF  IMPROVED   METHODS 
OF  DISPOSAL. 

The  most  important  result  of  the  investigations 
which  have  been  carried  out  by  the  Sanitary  District's 
sanitary  investigating  force  is  the  report  of  George  M. 
Wisner,  Chief  Engineer  of  the  District,  which  was  sub- 
mitted October  21,  1911.  This  report  faces  squarely  the 
fact  that  the  population  of  Chicago  is  approaching  the 
limit  of  3,000,000  for  whose  sewage  the  Sanitary  and  Ship 
Canal  was  designed,  and  states  that  after  this  population 
is  reached  the  canal  will  not  be  large  enough  to  carry 
enough  water  to  dilute  the  sewage  to  the  legal  amount. 
A  population  of  3,000,000  is  expected  by  about  1922  and 
one  of  4,000,000  before  1940.  Some  way  of  lightening  the 
burden  of  pollution  which  will  be  put  upon  the  waters  will 
then  have  to  be  undertaken,  and  Mr.  Wisner  suggests  the 
way  which  appears  to  him  most  suitable.  The  report 
claims  to  be  but  a  skeleton  upon  which  to  start  detailed 
studies  and  the  author  requests  authority  to  proceed  with 
them. 

The  Report  shows  clearly  that  however  others  may 
regard  the  sufficiency  of  the  present  means  of  disposal,  the 
technical  force  of  the  District  has  no  mistaken  idea  that 
the  condition  of  the  Chicago  River  and  the  Drainage 
Canal  is  satisfactory,  nor  that  there  should  be  any  delay 
in  making  plans  for  the  better  handling  of  the  sewage. 

Mr.  Wisner  has  proposed  that  practically  all  of  the 
sewage  produced  in  the  Sanitary  District  should  be 
treated  by  settling  basins  or  sprinkling  filters,  or  both. 
The  settling  tanks  would  be  expected  to  remove  about 
25  per  cent,  of  the  organic  matters  and  the  settling  and 
sprinkling  filters  would  produce  an  effluent  which  would 
add  nothing  to  the  organic  pollution  of  the  water.  Some 


200          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

of  the  works  would  be  built  at  once,  but  most  of  them 
would  not  come  into  use  for  some  years. 

17.— THE  WORKS  PROPOSED  BY  THE  CHIEF  ENGINEER. 

At  the  39th  Street  Pumping  Station  settling  tanks 
would  be  constructed  and  changes  made  in  the  pumps 
and  other  arrangements  to  provide  for  the  sewage  of  518,- 
ooo  persons,  which  is  the  number  which  would  be  expected 
by  1930.  After  treatment  the  sewage  would  be  dis- 
charged, as  now,  into  the  east  arm  of  the  South  Fork  of 
the  South  Branch. 

At  the  Lawrence  Avenue  pumping  station  there 
would  be  settling  tanks  for  the  sewage  of  a  population  of 
218,200. 

On  the  North  Branch  there  would  be  eight  plants  for 
settling  the  sewage  of  a  total  population  of  606,410.  The 
area  of  land  required  for  the  plants  would  range  between 
about  one  and  nine  and  one-half  acres  each.  They  would 
be  located  on  the  west  bank  of  Lawrence  Avenue,  Mont- 
rose  Avenue,  Irving  Park  Boulevard,  Addison  Avenue, 
Belmont  Avenue,  Diversey  Boulevard,  Fullerton  Avenue 
and  Armitage  Avenue.  The  effluent  would  discharge  into 
the  North  Branch. 

Works  at  22nd  Street  near  Ashland  Avenue  would 
settle  the  sewage  of  a  population  of  475,000  in  1930. 

Five  settling  plants  for  the  West  Side  would  be  lo- 
cated where  the  following  streets  meet  the  Drainage 
Channel:  Oak  Park  Avenue,  Fifty-Sixth  Avenue,  Fifty- 
second  Avenue,  Fifty-fifth  Avenue,  and  Fortieth  Avenue. 

In  the  stockyards  district,  settling  basins  would  be 
built  for  a  population  of  324,090  which,  it  is  estimated, 
should  be  provided  for  by  1930.  There  would  be  two 
plants:  one  at  the  forks  of  the  arms  and  the  other  at 
Robey  Street,  near  the  west  end  of  the  west  arm. 

In  the  Calumet,  a  settling  plant  would  deal  with  the 
sewage  of  about  300,000  people  by  1930.  The  works  would 
be  located  at  a  sharp  bend  in  the  river  somewhat  to  the 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  201 

east  of  the  head  of  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel.  Their  ob- 
ject would  be  to  remove  as  much  of  the  solids  as  possible 
before  the  sewage  was  discharged  into  the  canal. 

In  course  of  time,  sprinkling  filter  plants  would  be 
built  to  complete  the  treatment  begun  by  three  of  the 
settling  basin  plants  originally  constructed,  viz.:  the  Calu- 
met, West  Side  and  North  Branch  plants. 

The  total  population  for  which  provision  was  made  in 
the  estimates  for  sprinkling  filters  was  1,421,310.  The 
Calumet  plant  would  be  near  the  Calumet-Sag  Channel, 
the  West  Side  plant  would  be  near  the  Ogden  Dam  and 
the  North  Side  works  would  be  near  Lawrence  Avenue. 
Intercepting  sewers,  in  some  cases  of  considerable  length, 
would  be  necessary  in  order  to  bring  the  sewage  to  the 
works. 

Mr.  Wisner  recommends  that  the  construction  of  the 
intercepting  sewers,  pumping  stations  and  settling  basins 
be  started  in  the  Calumet  region  so  as  to  be  ready  when 
the  Canal  is  completed.  Later,  about  1930,  the  construc- 
tion of  the  sprinkling  filters  should  be  begun  in  the  Calu- 
met region  and  be  completed  before  1935.  The  settling 
basin  plant  for  the  stockyards  district  should  be  ready  for 
use  in  1915.  The  West  Side  sewers  should  be  extended 
from  the  Ogden  Ditch  to  the  Drainage  Channel  and 
settling  basins  installed  so  as  to  be  ready  for  service  by 
1925.  Construction  on  the  settling  tanks  along  the  North 
Branch  should  be  under  way  in  1922  and  be  wholly  in 
operation  by  1930.  By  1930,  also,  the  settling  tanks  at  the 
Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  should  be  in  opera- 
tion, if  required.  The  West  22nd  Street  project  would 
not  be  needed  until  1930.  No  date  was  set  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Lawrence  Avenue  works. 

The  works  call  for  a  total  expenditure  of  about 
$10,000,000  distributed  over  a  period  of  twenty  years.  The 
annual  cost,  including  interest  and  depreciation,  is  esti- 
mated at  about  $80,000  in  1915;  $213,000  in  1920;  $386,000 
in  1925  and  $710,000  in  1930. 


202          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

18.— COMMENTS   ON   THE   CHIEF   ENGINEER'S   REPORT. 

Mr.  Wisner's  report,  in  spite  of  the  necessary  haste 
with  which  it  was  written,  represents  a  great  deal  more 
study  than  he  claims  for  it  and  evinces  a  close  knowledge 
of  the  local  conditions. 

Mr.  Wisner's  report  bears  testimony  to  the  fact  that 
it  is  desirable  and  feasible  greatly  to  improve  the  condi- 
tions and  without  too  much  expense.  It  is  necessary  for 
the  Board  of  Experts  to  point  out  some  of  the  funda- 
mental difficulties  which  they  find  in  the  schemes.  Firsi, 
in  considering  what  steps  it  will  be  necessary  to  take  in 
order  to  improve  the  conditions,  the  very  common  mis- 
take is  made  of  regarding  the  problem  too  generally.  It 
is  assumed  that  the  discharge  of  a  definite  volume  of  sew- 
age into  a  definite  volume  of  water  will  produce  certain 
definite  effects.  The  Chicago  sewage  problem  is  not  of 
this  simple  character.  As  more  fully  stated  elsewhere,  the 
effects  produced  depend  upon  many  circumstances,  none 
of  which  is  under  control.  The  sewage  of  Chicago  is  not, 
and  never  has  been,  disposed  of  by  simple  dilution,  as  that 
term  is  commonly  understood.  Great  as  has  been  the  load 
of  filth  which  has  been  sent  to  the  Illinois  Valley  through 
the  Drainage  Canal,  the  Canal  has  not  carried  it  all.  A 
great  deal  has  been  deposited  in  the  river  and  its  stagnant 
tributaries,  a  great  deal  has  been  dredged  and  deposited 
in  the  lake,  a  great  deal  has  fermented  and  been  driven  off 
to  the  atmosphere  in  the  form  of  gas  and  enormous  quan- 
tities have  been  oxidized  in  the  Chicago  River  by  the  oxy- 
gen which  was  brought  in  by  the  fresh  lake  water  and  that 
which  was  absorbed  from  the  air.  The  waterways  into 
which  the  sewage  is  directly  discharged  act  in  an  impor- 
tant manner  in  digesting  the  sewage.  Just  how  useful 
they  are  cannot  be  stated,  but  that  they  perform  a  dis- 
tinct service  cannot  be  doubted  by  anyone  who  is  familiar 
with  the  conditions. 

What  Mr.  Wisner's  projects  would  do  for  the  water- 
ways it  is  impossible  to  say.  The  settling  basins  would 
certainly  reduce  that  part  of  the  burden  of  pollution  which' 


POLICIES  AND  METHODS  203 

is  now  disposed  of  partly  by  deposition  and  fermentation. 
The  sprinkling  filters  would  lighten  the  burden  both  as  to 
suspended  and  dissolved  matter.  According  to  these 
plans  the  sewage  of  about  four  million  persons  would  be 
settled  and  that  of  about  one  and  one-half  million  treated 
by  sprinkling  filters  by  1930.  The  treated  sewage  of 
about  two  million  persons  would  be  discharged  into  the 
open  waterways  of  the  city,  not  to  mention  the  settled 
sewage  of  the  loop  district,  which  would  be  discharged 
into  the  South  Branch.  Partial  treatment  rather  than 
diversion  is  the  leading  feature  of  Air.  Wisner's  recom- 
mendations. His  plants  would,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
be  located  in  the  built-up  portions  of  the  city. 

To  treat  the  sewage  by  oxidation  methods  in  the 
crowded  part  of  the  city  and  discharge  the  effluent  into 
the  watercourses  which  run  through  the  most  thickly 
built-up  sections  is  contrary  to  the  customs  of  large  cities 
whose  sewage  is  disposed  of  in  a  sanitary  manner.  Lon- 
don, Paris  and  Berlin,  not  to  mention  many  other  Euro- 
pean cities,  intercept  their  sewage  by  sewers  which  run 
along  the  waterfront  and  carry  the  sewage  to  a  point  or 
points  outside  of  the  municipal  limits  for  disposal.  There 
are  two  reasons  for  this  course.  The  avoidance  of  offen- 
sive conditions  connected  with  the  works  and  the  dis- 
charge of  the  effluent  where  it  will  do  the  least  amount 
of  harm. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  extensive  system  of  set- 
tling basins  as  proposed  for  the  west  shore  of  the  North 
Branch  and  the  Loop  District  would  be  sufficiently  free 
from  objectionable  gases.  The  opinion  of  the  Metropoli- 
tan Sewerage  Commission  of  New  York,  which  gave 
careful  thought  to  this  question  of  nuisance,  and  consid- 
ered every  type  of  settling  tank  available  in  1914,  was  that 
settling  basins  should  not  be  constructed  in  the  closely 
built-up  portions  of  cities.  After  pointing  out  that  dan- 
gers of  explosion  existed  in  covered  underground  settling 
tanks,  the  Commission  expressed  itself  as  follows:* 

*Main  Drainage  and  Sewage  Disposal  Works  Proposed  for  New  York  City; 
Report  of  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Commission  of  New  York,  April,  1914, 
p.  169. 


204          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

"The  Commission  does  not  share  the  opinion  that  the  loca- 
tion of  settling  basins  in  the  built-up  parts  of  the  city  would 
be  free  from  public  objection.  Granting  that  they  would  not 
produce  offensive  odors,  it  seems  certain  that  property  hold- 
ers in  the  vicinity  would  make  vigorous  protest  against  the 
construction  of  such  works  in  the  belief,  mistaken  though  it 
might  be,  that  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  neighborhood 
were  seriously  threatened.  The  object  of  the  works  would 
avowedly  be  to  extract  as  much  as  possible  of  the  offensive 
and  dangerous  materials  from  the  sewage,  and  before  they 
were  disposed  of  they  would  have  to  be  stored,  transported 
to  the  water  front,  loaded  upon  vessels  and  shipped  to  sea." 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Board  of  Experts,  Chicago's 
waterways  require  more  protection  than  can  be  afforded 
by  passing  the  sewage  through  settling  basins.  They 
hold  the  opinion  that  the  only  way  to  secure  the  needed 
protection  is  to  divert  a  large  part  of  the  sewage  by  means 
of  intercepting  sewers  to  some  point  or  points  where  the 
sewage  can  be  suitably  treated  and  that  it  should  then  be 
discharged  directly  into  the  Drainage  Canal.  Exact  fig- 
ures are  not  available  to  show  what  it  would  cost  to 
accomplish  this  object,  but  it  may  be  taken  for  granted 
that  no  such  extravagant  expense  would  be  involved  as 
that  indicated  by  those  who  wish  it  to  appear  that  any 
other  scheme  of  sewage  disposal  would  be  prohibitive  for 
reasons  of  expense. 

Before  a  final  opinion  is  formed  in  favor  of,  or  opposed 
to,  Mr.  Wisner's  plans,  careful  and  detailed  consideration 
should  be  given  to  them,  and  this  the  Chief  Engineer  has 
recommended  himself. 


Part  IX 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  main  conclusions  which  the  Board  of  Experts 
have  reached  after  their  study  is  that  reliance  should  no 
longer  be  placed  upon  the  discharge  of  the  crude  sewage 
of  Chicago  and  its  neighboring  municipalities  into  the 
open  channels  and  waterways  leading  to  the  Illinois  Val- 
ley as  a  sufficient  means  of  getting  rid  of  this  sewage  and 
protecting  the  drinking  water  which  is  obtained  from 
Lake  Michigan. 

However  perfect  this  scheme  may  once  have  appeared 
from  a  theoretical  standpoint,  in  practice  it  has  proved  to 
be  inadequate  both  as  a  means  of  obtaining  pure  water 
and  as  a  means  of  getting  rid  of  the  sewage.  It  has  never 
produced  completely  satisfactory  conditions  at  Chicago 
and  it  never  can  do  so.  It  has  produced  insanitary  condi- 
tions for  many  miles  down  the  Drainage  Channel  and  the 
Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers. 

1.— THE  WATER  SUPPLY. 

The  idea  of  excluding  all  the  sewage  from  the  lake 
calls  for  the  placing  of  a  larger  territory  under  central 
sanitary  control  than  is  practicable.  The  region  whose 
drainage  pollutes  the  lake  lies  in  four  states.  There  is 
occasional  contamination  to  be  feared  from  vessels  in 
spite  of  any  precautions  which  can  be  taken.  In  short, 
the  sources  of  pollution  which  now  exist  are  too  nu- 
merous, too  various  and  under  too  many  governmental 
jurisdictions  to  be  centralized.  They  should  be  cen- 
tralized to  be  controlled.  The  increase  in  population 
which  will  occur  in  the  future  around  the  southern  end  of 

205 


206       •    REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

Lake  Michigan  will  make  the  possibility  of  proper  control 
still  more  remote. 

Pollution  due  to  large  and  local  passenger  vessels  can 
be,  and  has  been,  practically  eliminated,  but  so  long  as 
Chicago  remains  a  busy  port  and  Lake  Michigan  a  great 
highway  of  commerce,  it  will  be  impracticable  wholly  to 
prevent  the  discharge  of  dangerous  wastes  from  the  ship- 
ping. The  dumping  of  foul  dredgings  and  the  discharge 
of  water  ballast  taken  aboard  in  sewage  contaminated 
harbors  are  evils  which  it  is  feasible  to  control  almost 
entirely. 

Some  polluting  matter  is  undoubtedly  swept  into  the 
lake  from  the  vast  population  upon  the  shores,  and  al- 
though this  pollution  is  more  objectionable  because  it  is 
visible  than  because  of  the  harmful  properties  which  it 
may  contain,  it  is  unwise  to  neglect  the  significance  which 
may  properly  attach  to  it. 

In  considering  the  suitability  of  Lake  Michigan  at 
Chicago  as  a  source  of  drinking  water,  it  is  not  to  be  for- 
gotten that  the  lake  is  devoid  of  regular  currents  which 
are  capable  of  carrying  polluting  material  away.  The 
irregular  currents  which  are  set  up  by  the  wind  are  as 
likely  to  stir  up  the  water  in  the  vicinity  of  the  intakes 
and  carry  shore  pollution  to  them  as  to  cause  a  cleansing 
and  refreshing  action  by  the  inflow  of  pure  water  from 
distant  points.  Strong  on-shore  winds  make  the  water 
at  Chicago  turbid  and  cause  undertows  which  extend  far 
out  into  the  lake.  In  the  case  of  some  of  the  intakes,  a 
marked  increase  in  the  colon  findings  always  follows  se- 
vere storms.  Numerous  investigators  have  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  water  supply  was  occasionally  polluted. 

The  vital  statistics  can  be  quoted  either  to  show  that 
the  water  supply  is,  or  is  not,  dangerous  to  health.  In 
comparison  with  some  cities,  the  typhoid  rate  is  high,  with 
others  low.  There  has  been  a  decided  decline  in  the  pre- 
valence of  typhoid  in  Chicago,  but  this  is  not  remarkable 
when  compared  with  the  decline  in  other  cities  and  the 
whole  country. 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  207 

The  water  supply  is,  and  long  has  been  occasionally 
polluted,  according  to  detailed  official  analyses  which 
have  been  examined  by  the  Board  of  Experts.  The  United 
States  Public  Health  Service  classes  Chicago  with  cities 
whose  water  supplies  are  subject  to  intermittent  pollution 
with  great  dilution  of  the  polluting  material.  In  the  opin- 
ion of  Dr.  Young,  head  of  the  City  Health  Department, 
water-borne  typhoid  cannot  be  considered  as  having  been 
entirely  eliminated.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Board  of 
Experts  that  the  water  supply  is  not  safe. 

2.— THE  OPEN  SEWERS. 

Chicago's  policy  of  using  its  river,  and  constructing 
canals,  some  of  them  running  through  the  business  and 
residence  sections  of  the  city,  as  open  sewers,  is  not  in 
accordance  with  good  sanitary  practice  and  should  be 
given  up.  Limits  of  pollution  should  be  established  for 
these  waterways  based  on  what  is  proper  under  the  con- 
ditions and  the  necessary  works  should  be  built. 

For  cities  to  utilize  the  self-purifying  capacity  of 
water  for  the  ultimate  disposal  of  their  sewage  is  quite 
justified  under  proper  circumstances,  but  to  cast  the  entire 
burden  of  Chicago's  filth  upon  the  Chicago  River  and  its 
artificial  outlet  is  to  impose  conditions  upon  these  water- 
ways which  are  alike  unsanitary,  unfair  and  unnecessary. 
It  violates  the  first  law  of  public  health  work,  which  is 
that  dangerous  and  offensive  wastes  shall  be  promptly  re- 
moved from  their  points  of  origin  and  kept  under  control 
until  they  are  rendered  harmless  and  inert. 

Aside  from  Chicago's  right  to  appropriate  the  largest 
river  in  the  State  for  the  purposes  of  sewage  disposal,  a 
proceeding  the  justice  of  which  is  here  questioned,  the 
result  in  the  city  of  Chicago  is  not  satisfactory.  The 
scheme  as  it  exists  today,  after  fifteen  years  have  been  de- 
voted to  its  perfection,  leaves  very  much  to  be  desired. 

There  is  not  an  arm  or  branch  of  the  Chicago  River 
which  looks  clean  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  what  the 
best  sanitated  cities  have  accomplished.  Conditions  exist 


208  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

in  parts  of  the  North  Branch,  South  Branch  and  West 
Fork  which  are  insanitary  in  the  extreme.  Only  by  com- 
paring the  state  of  the  waterways  today  with  their  condi- 
tion in  the  days  when  Chicago  was  regarded  as  the  most 
insanitary  city  to  be  found,  can  the  existing  conditions  be 
made  to  appear  satisfactory. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  interests  of  sanita- 
tion and  of  navigation  were  equally  served  by  construct- 
ing the  Drainage  Channel.  This  attempt  has  failed.  The 
two  interests  are  opposed  in  many  ways  and  in  seeking  to 
help  the  one,  the  other  has  been  hindered.  When  the  deep 
waterway  from  the  lakes  to  the  Gulf  is  sufficiently  com- 
pleted to  be  extensively  used  by  commerce,  the  Drainage 
Channel  and  the  Chicago  River  will  be  less  suitable  than 
they  are  today  for  sewage. 

It  is  time  that  Chicago  separated  its  sewage  and  navi- 
gation problems.  The  disposal  of  the  sewage  is  one  thing, 
and  the  encouragement  of  navigation  quite  another. 

3.— THE  LAW. 

It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  the  Legislature  which 
passed  the  organic  law  providing  for  the  construction  of 
the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal  contemplated  the  existence 
of  the  conditions  of  pollution  which  exist  in  the  water- 
ways of  Chicago  and  their  outlet,  and  this  feature  of  the 
law  has  not  been  changed  by  any  subsequent  amendment. 
The  law  is  often  misquoted  and  misinterpreted.  It  is  de- 
sirable to  repeat  here  a  few  of  its  principal  provisions. 

The  object  in  passing  the  law  was  to  promote  the 
public  health  and  this  was  to  be  done  by  providing  means 
whereby  the  sewage  could  be  kept  out  of  the  lake.  Sec- 
tion i  of  the  law  states : 

"That  whenever  any  area  of  contiguous  territory  within 
the  limits  of  a  single  county  shall  contain  two  or  more  incor- 
porated cities,  towns  or  villages,  and  shall  be  so  situated  that 
the  maintenance  of  a  common  outlet  for  the  drainage  thereof 
will  conduce  to  the  preservation  of  the  public  health,  the  same 
may  be  incorporated  as  a  sanitary  district  under  this  act,  in 
the  manner  following:  *  *  *" 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  209 

The  law  insists  upon  a  sanitary  condition  of  the  out- 
let. Section  7  says: 

"The  Board  of  Trustees  of  any  sanitary  district  organized 
under  this  act  shall  have  power  to  provide  for  the  drainage  of 
such  district  by  laying  out,  establishing,  constructing  and 
maintaining  one  or  more  main  channels,  drains,  ditches  and 
outlets  for  carrying  off  and  disposing  of  the  drainage  (includ- 
ing the  sewage)  of  such  district,  together  with  such  adjuncts 
and  additions  thereto  as  may  be  necessary  or  proper  to  cause 
such  channels  or  outlets  to  accomplish  the  end  for  which  they 
are  designed  in  a  satisfactory  manner;  * 

The  General  Assembly  did  not  regard  the  ratio  of 
dilution  which  would  be  necessary  as  positively  deter- 
mined, but  specified  the  minimum  which  should  be  pro- 
vided. The  end  to  be  accomplished  was  such  a  disposal 
of  the  sewage  as  would  be  neither  offensive  or  injurious 
to  the  health  of  any  of  the  people  of  the  State.  Section 
20  says: 

"Any  channel  or  outlet  constructed  under  the  provisions 
of  this  act  which  shall  cause  the  discharge  of  sewage  into  or 
through  any  river  or  stream  of  water  beyond  or  without  the 
limits  of  the  district  constructing  the  same,  shall  be  of  suffi- 
cient size  and  capacity  to  produce  a  continuous  flow  of  water 
of  at  least  two  hundred  cubic  feet  per  minute  for  each  one 
thousand  of  the  population  of  the  district  drained  thereby,  and 
the  same  shall  be  kept  and  maintained  of  such  size  and  in 
such  condition  that  the  water  thereof  shall  be  neither  offensive 
or  injurious  to  the  health  of  any  of  the  people  of  this  state; 
and  before  any  sewage  shall  be  discharged  into  such  channel 
or  outlet,,  all  garbage,  dead  animals,  and  parts  thereof,  and 
other  solids  shall  be  taken  therefrom,  and  said  district  shall, 
at  the  time  any  sewage  is  turned  into  or  through  any  such 
channel  or  channels,  turn  into  said  channel  or  channels  not 
less  than  twenty  thousand  cubic  feet  of  water  per  minute  for 
every  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  of  said  district,  and 
'shall  thereafter  maintain  the  flow  of  such  quantity  of  water." 

The  only  provision  which  can  be  construed  into  a  ref- 
erence to  the  elimination  of  trade  wastes  lies  in  that  part 
of  the  foregoing  section  which  states  that  "garbage,  dead 
animals  and  parts  thereof  and  other  solids,"  shall  be  re- 


210          REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

moved  from  the  sewage  before  it  is  discharged  into  the 
outlet  channel. 

Apparently  the  law  neither  requires  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict to  dispose  of  crude  sewage,  nor  forbids  it  to  build 
sewage  disposal  works.  In  other  words,  it  appears  that 
the  District  may  build  such  works  as  it  needs  and  is  not 
compelled  to  depend  solely  upon  dilution  as  the  means  of 
getting  rid  of  the  sewage.  It  is  explicitly  admonished 
that  any  outlet  constructed  under  the  provisions  of  the  act 
shall  be  kept  in  such  condition  as  not  to  be  offensive  or  in- 
jurious to  any  of  the  people  of  the  state. 

4._SEWAGE  WORKS. 

The  Board  of  Experts  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate 
Board  recommends  that  a  policy  of  prevention  be  adopted 
in  place  of  the  policy  of  cure  which  has  thus  far  been  fol- 
lowed in  attempting  to  make  the  Chicago  River  clean.  In- 
stead of  discharging  sewage  into  the  river  in  unlimited 
quantities  and  without  restriction  as  to  the  composition, 
limits  should  be  placed  upon  the  quality  and  amount  of 
domestic  sewage  and  trade  wastes  which  it  may  receive. 
Restriction  should  be  placed  not  only  upon  industrial 
drainage,  but  upon  domestic  sewage  as  well.  Only  that 
part  of  the  drainage  which  the  water  can  absorb  and  carry 
away  without  producing  offensive  conditions  anywhere 
should  be  emptied  into  the  waterways.  The  remainder 
should  be  collected  and  disposed  of  in  such  ways  as  the 
experience  of  Chicago  and  other  cities  shows  to  be  desir- 
able and  the  opportunities  of  the  situation  permit.  Inter- 
cepting sewers,  screens  and  settling  basins  will  have  to  be 
employed  extensively  and  it  is  probable  that  more  efficient 
methods  of  purification  will  be  required  to  a  considerable 
extent. 

5.— TRADE  WASTES. 

A  large  part  of  the  difficulty  met  with  in  disposing  of 
Chicago's  sewage  has  been  caused  by  trade  wastes  which 
have  too  freely  been  admitted  to  the  sewers  and  open 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  211 

waterways.  It  is  not  reasonable  that  excessive  burdens  of 
cost  and  inconvenience  should  be  placed  upon  the  public 
by  manufacturing  establishments  in  this  manner,  and  it  is 
suggested  that  a  definite  and  equitable  policy  be  adopted 
with  respect  to  this  subject.  As  a  step  toward  the  formu- 
lation of  such  a  policy,  it  is  recommended  that  trade 
wastes  should  be  dealt  with  at  private  expense  when,  by 
reason  of  their  volume,  nature  or  strength,  they  add  un- 
duly to  the  cost  of  treating  the  sewage. 

6.— WATER  FILTRATION. 

Xo  plan  or  method  of  dealing  with  the  sewage  will 
afford  the  complete  protection  to  the  water  supply  which 
is  desirable,  and  the  city  must  face  the  fact  that  the  water 
supply  should  be  purified.  Purification  in  this  case  means 
filtration.  The  object  should  be  not  only  to  produce  a 
drinking  water  which  is  bacterial ly  pure,  but  one  whose 
brightness  and  attractiveness  are  not  impaired,  as  now,  at 
times  of  storm.  Filtration  works  can,  and  should,  be  con- 
structed at  once  for  a  part  of  the  water  supply  and  ex- 
tended later  to  cover  the  entire  supply  as  necessity  and 
opportunity  present. 

7.— LAKE  PROTECTION. 

The  adoption  of  a  policy  of  cleaner  waterways  and  a 
cleaner  water  supply  do  not  run  counter  to  the  plan  which 
the  city  has  followed  of  diverting  all  the  sewage  from 
the  lake  and  keeping  the  lake  water  as  pure  as  possible  for 
drainage  purposes.  The  filtration  works  are  necessary  to 
supplement  the  sewage  works  and  are  required  for  the 
reason  that  the  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal  alone  is  not 
capable  of  accomplishing  the  results  required.  It  will 
always  be  desirable  to  keep  as  much  sewage  as  practicable 
out  of  the  lake  and  to  dispose  of  the  sewage  with  as  little 
offence  as  is  consistent  with  a  due  regard  to  economy. 

It  may  be  expected  that  the  standards  by  which  the 
success  of  the  sewage  disposal  works  and  water  purifica- 
tion plants  is  to  be  tested  in  the  future  will  be  considerably 


212  REPORT  ON  WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

in  advance  of  those  of  today.  In  the  recommendations 
here  made  that  the  water  and  sewage  be  treated,  clue  al- 
lowance is  made  for  the  development  of  the  works  as  an 
ultimate  to  secure  a  higher  efficiency  than  is  at  first 
needed. 

8.— PROGRESSION  PLAN. 

The  works  here  recommended  can  and  should  be  built 
in  accordance  with  a  progressive  plan.  It  is  not  intended 
that  the  whole,  or  any  very  large  part  of  the  structures 
which  may  be  needed  fifty  years  from  now  shall  be  put 
into  the  ground  at  once.  But  the  outlook  should  be  suf- 
ficiently broad  and  the  plan  sufficiently  comprehensive 
so  that  whatever  building  is  done  shall  be  toward  a  result 
which  is  clearly  foreseen. 

The  next  step  which  should  be  taken  toward  a  sani- 
tary disposal  of  Chicago's  sewage  is  the  preparation  of  a 
definite  General  Plan  and  Policy  of  sewage  disposal  which 
will  show  what  works  are  required,  where  they  should  be 
located,  when  they  should  be  built,  and  what  they  should 
cost.  To  do  this  work  properly  will  require  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  ground. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

GEORGE  A.  SOPER. 
JOHN  D.  WATSON. 
ARTHUR  J.  MARTIN. 


K  m 


311481 

•fc^jLJ-vJ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


